From Salem to Hogwarts
by ravenclawfever
Summary: What happens when the only family you have ever known is imprisoned in Azkaban and sentenced to death? Silver Crouch has to leave her beloved school and friends behind as she is forced to move with an estranged family of her past and attend Hogwarts. D/OC
1. Crouch

_I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's characters._

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**And there it was. Silver Crouch had just heard the most horrible news that anyone can ever imagine at fifteen, her father had died. She felt the world around her crumble into small pieces one by one by one, like a never ending earthquake. She felt dizzy and nauseated and in disbelief, a part of her didn't want to accept that she had just lost the only family she had ever known, her sole connection to everything around her. She was lost and felt completely and utterly alone.**

Silver Crouch, then Potter, was adopted when she was 2 years old. She had never known who her birth parents were or anything about her past life before she was taken into the custody of Barty Crouch Jr., the truth is she was scared to find out.

He had never been much of a father for her being as he was always away on business, she never knew why he was gone for so long but she never really cared to ask. Quite Frankly she was always a bit excited when he would leave her home alone, it gave her much needed time to herself.

She lived in England for the first few years of her life until her magical abilities came forth a few months before her eleventh birthday. Her father demanded that she move to America right away so she can begin her magical education and a couple of days later she was set on a one way flight to Massachusetts. Her school became her home and she liked it there, very much. The Salem Witches Institute was homey and it's entire student population never reached over fifty; It felt like a big family - a family she's never had the fortune of having. She remained at school for most of the year even during school holidays, and when the term came to an end she went off to spend the summers' with friends. She preferred it that way.

Finals were finally over and all the students of Salem Witches Institute were finally able to relax again. Most of them had begun to pack for their leaves from school, excited for their summer plans. Silver and her room mates were chasing each other with pillows and booming with laughter as they removed clothes from their drawers and meddled about the latest news of the neighboring wizards' school.

"So your spending the summer with me this year?" asked Lucy Albyss one of her two best friends. Lucy and Silver were physically complete opposites. Lucy was short (well compared to Silver) at about 5'3" with dark brown eyes and bright red hair styled into a bob, while Silver had long ebony black wavy hair growing all the way down to mid-back with full bangs straight across her forehead. She had bright emerald eyes that became a darker evergreen color indoors, and height-wise,was 5'7" - tall and thin, and she had an olive skin tone, a _slight_ tan gracing her body from her tanning session with Lucy. The last portion of the trio was Rupert Lions, a tall dark and handsome but unfortunate soul that always hovered around Lucy and Silver and had to endure their girl talk and gossip, which they were convinced he actually enjoyed from time to time. Rupert didn't attend Salem but with weekend visits and outings they were able to keep each up to date and remain close.

"Yeah, I guess I'm stuck with you this year," Silver said in her usual sarcasm. "I'm sorry that i wont be gracing you with my presence this year, I know you love my company" she teased as her body turned at the waist to face the boy behind them. The rules weren't extremely strict at Salem; since it was an all witches' school there weren't any gender barriers at the door, as there were in other co-ed institutions. On the last day of school the partner wizard's school and Salem would grant student's permission to visit the other school's grounds.

"Oh yes, last summer droned out by your whining was so exciting! I'm really actually very sad, even though it might not seem that way right now," mocked Rupert. She hugged her best friend and he returned the embrace, knowing that he really would miss Silver and Lucy this summer; they meant the world to him and although he would never admit it, he would chose spending a summer with them then one of his wizard schoolmates.

"Alright so I'm packed up and ready to go, whenever your ready Lucy," smiled Silver.

The trio walked through the school and up to the gates of Salem as they said their good-byes to the friends they crossed on the way. Rupert was spending the summer with his parents in Boston and Lucy was taking Silver to spend the summer with her at her parent's house in Greece, which Silver was completely ecstatic about. Every year for the past five years she would stay mostly alone for the holidays, but when summer came around she would alternate who she would spend it with - and it was never disappointing, Lucy and Rupert had leisure's she would only dream about.

She never once returned back to England to visit her father since her admittance to Salem, and they barely wrote - just three times all year; the first day of the term, Christmas, and after finals. Her father was very much on the wealthy side, being as he was from an affluent pureblood family. Although Silver herself was a half-blood, Barty Crouch had spend his years with her convincing her otherwise - after all, she didn't know who her parents were so who's to say that what she's been feedig the pureblood families she met throughtout her childhood wasn't a lie? Barty Crouch would never hear the end of it if the child's vigorously rehearsed (fake) story about her bloodlines ever slipped - his repuation would be permantently bruised.

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**A/N: This is my first fanfic ever! and I'm really excited about it. I've been thinking about what would happen if a situation like this would ever arise and I decided to start the story. All of your feedback would be greatly appreciated, since I'm just starting at this and I know there's a lot for me to learn. I have a lot of ideas for this fanfic, so many that i might need help in deciding what my next move would be, so If i get enough reviews I'll start posting more of the story and ask when I need to, what should happen in the storyline next like a poll kind thing. Thank you for reading :)**

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	2. Malfoy

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Before she was sent abroad to Salem, she was usually in the company of Crouch's fellow 'co-workers' and their children. One boy in particular, Draco Malfoy, was a very important part of her childhood. They would spend weeks or even months together since Crouch would leave for long periods of time. There was never a dull moment at Malfoy Manor - there was so much to explore in the eyes of child judging by the gargatuan size of the mansion. Although her very own house wasn't very far off. The clever Malfoy boy and her got along easily - so close, they were practically attatched at the hip.

_"Draco!" Silver ran to her pale friend as she reached his house. He had been anxiously awaiting her arrival at his doorsteps since the morning. "SIlver!, your owled that you were coming at ten this morning! It's already half past one, what took you so long?" _

_He stood in place with the biggest smile he could manage waiting for the blow of Silver tackling him into a bear hug. "Dad had to stop at the Goyle's before he came to drop me off here" Silver gagged, she really couldn't stand Crabbe and Goyle, they were, to put it simply, stupid. _

_Draco laughed and brought her inside the house "I know you must have loved that" he smiled at her, "Fortunately Crabbe, Goyle and the rest o' the lot are arriving tonight". _

_Silver knew where this was going " Let the games begin" she laughed out loud. _

You see, the reason Draco and her got along so well was that they were both partially evil. Not in the way of reaching the point where they would want commit vicious acts, no, as in they loved to meddle and prank those around them. They would spend days upon end plotting disasterdly ways to lure Crabbe and Goyle into their new found mischief and would feel wonderfully accomplished when they had done so - not that it was very hard.

Draco was not always nice person, she knew that he was completely two-faced. He could be very arrogant and sarcastic while at the same time, be very polite and courteous: But if it was possible to have 3 personalities, Draco was the prime contender. When he was around Silver he was pretty much as a nice as you would ever see him, he was still his sarcastic and witty self but his cruel names and harsh insults were tucked neatly away. He would talk to her about everything - the careless way his father would treat him, his mother's defeated attempts to defend him, and about where Lucius and Crouch's tell her stories about Lucius and Barty since most of the Deatheater business went on in his house. Silver chose to ignore the reality that her adopted father was a death eater and that his career of choice was to be a murderer. After all ignorance really was bliss, especially in a situation like this.

But those times were all a faint memory now, the last time she had seen Draco was the June before she was sent to Salem.

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**A/N: Please Review! I have a lot more written and I'm working on some more images but I want to know what you guys think.**


	3. Salem and Greece

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_Her first days at Salem she mostly kept to herself; She would owl Draco but he would never respond. Had he forgotten about her? Just the thought of that hurt her even more than she would ever let herself admit. _

_Back in England, Draco had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry, he was beaming knowing that he would spend the his years of schooling with his best mate by his side and ran over to look for a piece of parchment to inform her of the good news. He walked up the stairs and by the corridor of his father's study as he heard hushed voices inside, Draco recognized the other voice in the room to be that of Barty Crouch. He couldn't hear much of the conversation and decided he was bored as he turned towards his room but just then heard his father mention Silver. He furrowed his brow in frustration as he attempted to find a way he could hear the exchange between the two adults. How he wished he had already begun at Hogwarts and would know some type of spell for eavesdropping!_

_  
"So its set then Crouch?," Lucius sneered, "Silver is attending Salem this coming semester?. "Must i repeat myself Malfoy, she's on her way to America as we speak," Crouch was bothered by Lucius and his persistence. Draco gasped, a little too loudly, which caused the two men to turn towards the door and catch a glimpse of his shadow as Draco turned on his heel and went running down the hall as his vision started to blur. He took out his quill and began to vigorously jot down a note to her. Draco slammed the door of his son's bedroom open, leaving one of the screws of the hinges a little worn. He snatched Draco's parchment away and forbid him from ever speaking to that half-blood ever again. He took such extreme measures as to have a house elf filter all of his son's mail and made sure a letter to or from Silver Crouch never entered or exited Malfoy Manor. Draco had never hated his father with so much intensity as he did in that moment. The only light in his life, his only lifeline to escape his father and the fate that awaited him, had been turned off and he couldn't fight to turn it back on; He needed her in his life, the way he needed oxygen to breathe she was the only thing that kept him sane and happy. Draco Malfoy felt the saline tears fabricating behind his eyes and for the first time let them fall and make their way down to his cheeks. He sat on his bed as he carefully reached up to touch his face, what a disgrace he was to the Malfoy name he thought as he brushed his cheek with his hand to get rid of the intruders that were now starting to flow faster and harder than before. He let himself fall back to the safety of his bed as he enveloped himself in his sheets. He would never see her again and all he could do was come to terms and accept it._

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Silver and Lucy had finally arrived after the plane trip that seemed longer than eternity, she was jet-lagged. "Why did we take a plane?" she managed to grumble, she felt as if little men were inside her head pounding her brains from side to side. Lucy burst out laughing at her friends nauseated expression, Lucy was muggle born and didn't want to freak her parents out by arriving at her house in a broomstick. "Aw man up Silver, It wasn't so bad sure you might have been air-sick for most of the time but at least they played good movies," she proudly stated as she grabbed Silver's hand and wrapped it over her elbow. Silver chuckled at her memory on the plane when Lucy had introduced what a movie was to her, she still couldn't quite grasp the concept but felt a small kind of accomplishment for her new discovery. After several minutes of standing Silver finally managed to compose herself but then felt her lunch unsettling again and finding its way back up her throat as Lucy hastily ran and dragged her to a yellow car she recognized as a taxi.

"Look at that!" Silver was practically jumping off her seat as she moved from one side of the taxi to the other trying to take in all the sights. "Yes i see it, I do live here you know," Lucy smiled and Silver shot a glare in her direction but was quickly distracted by a white building that she had just missed. She hastily moved to the back of the car so she wouldn't miss it. "Haha you almost got away, you sneaky white contraption!," Silver laughed in victory. Lucy noticed the taxi driver glance at Silver as if she had just been let out of an insane asylum, she laughed out loud to herself and quickly joined Silver in sight seeing. The driver's thoughts were confirmed as the two teenagers crawled around the cab and burst out in a fit of laughter.

"But did you see the one that was out sufing!?" Silver ranted with a dreamish look in her eyes, "he was beautiful!"

Lucy laughed at her bestfriend's description of the as she called- Greek God's on the beach but didn't comment, she was beginning to regret taking Silver to a local beach. The brunette noticed the silence as looked at her with a special kind of mischief in her eye as she teased "Look Lu, its ok. Rupert isn't here so he'll never find out"

Lucy turned 10 different shades of red and pink as she open her mouth in shock " SILVER!" as much as she hated to admit it, the chemistry between Lucy and Rupert was undeniably clear. They were perfect for each other, and she knew that she had to play cupid and not forcibly get them together, but merely give them the push they needed to help them realize their feelings for each other.

They laughed as they walked home and Silver bantered about the prospect of Rupert as a future beau for the red head. She felt victorious as Lucy started to get fired up in the conversation and began to spill everything that she had been holding in for the past year. Silver couldn't be happier to hear her splurge about her evident crush on Rupert since they had returned to school this past year, but couldn't help to wonder what this would do to their tight-knit friendship. She quickly pushed her thoughts aside as she saw the excitement dancing in her friend's eyes and had no choice but to laugh at how thrilled and relieved Lucy was to let his all out!

They arrived at the house and Silver was caught off guard as Lucy's mother crushed her into a hug.

"Mom?" Lucy laughed, "What's all this about?"

Silver felt wetness on her cheek and realized that was crying. She pulled back as she scanned the face of the frantic woman. Just as she felt her mouth opening to ask her what the matter was she saw Mrs. Albyss hand a copy of the Daily Prophet to her daughter. Lucy looked at the paper with hesitation and took it, Silver stared at her friend as she saw her skim around the paper and finally gasp as she read the headline. "What's going on?," Silver was frustrated and grabbed the newspaper from her nervous hands.

**Barty Crouch Jr. Imprisoned in Azkaban and Sentenced to Death. **

She read the title over and over again. There it was, written in plain ink on the paper before her.

Her father had been sentenced to death.

Her father had been sentenced to imprisonment in Azkaban.

Her father had been sentenced to death because he was a murderer.

Because Barty Crouch, was a deatheater.

She felt her her bubble of bliss and ignorance cracking.. bursting little by little, until it finally exploded. The truth about her family was on the Daily Prophet for the whole world to know. She felt Lucy's arms around her shoulders as she lost feeling in her knees and started falling towards the ground. She was back to square one, back to where she had started, she was once again a homeless orphan.

or so she thought.

**A/N: Just in case you guys haven't caught on yet, the italics are flashbacks. Thank you for reading :) Please Review and tell me what you think so far!  
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	4. New family?

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Draco Malfoy had once again been imprisoned to spending summer at his mansion. He dreaded the end of the school year at Hogwart's because he knew there was no escape to his next destination.

Malfoy was respected and feared at school, he was at the top of the food chain you could say; he had everything under control. But at home, he was mistreated and reprimanded constantly by his father. Nothing he did was ever good enough for him, He had straight O's in school but his father didn't care, he was at the top of the Slytherin house and was made prefect, Lucius paid no mind. All Lucius wanted for his son, was for him to follow in his footsteps and become a deatheater. What a Malfoy's supposed to do, what they're destined to do.

Draco on the other hand had other plans. He didnt want to be condemned to a life of following orders from an insane, psychopathic man: he had enough of that at home from his father! He shook his head as if he was trying to shake off the image of the Dark Lord from his mind. He knew he could be mean and arrogant at times, but he certainly wasn't a murderer.

Draco looked up from his dresser and stared back at his reflection in the mirror, he was tired. He hadn't slept more than 3 hours since he had come back home. His lack of sleep was starting to leave it's mark on his perfectly sharp features, dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes and his hair wasn't in a smoothly gelled back as usual. He had just turned 16 and a whirlwind of news and obligations had been shoved onto his lap by his over demanding father and he couldn't handle it.

His thoughts were disturbed as he heard the front door slamming downstairs, he cursed under his breath to the sound that brought him back to reality and ignored it. He could imagine his father storming into the house in another one of his tirades and decided he didn't want to deal with him now. He turned on his heel to walk off to his bed but was cut short when he heard Narcissa scream in terror. Draco eyes widened in panic and darted out of his room to aide his mother, in fear that his father had done something to hurt her. He loved his mother and admired her for all she had to put up with recently. His father wasn't always as cold as he had recently become.

When he arrived downstairs he saw his mother weeping on his father's shoulder as he stroked her hair and whispered into her ear.

Draco straightened up and cleared his throat "Father".

Lucius whipped his head around at the sound of his son's voice and stared at him. Draco blinked at his father's stare but held his ground. He then noticed his father's eyes and it scared him. They weren't full of hate and disdain, they were quite the opposite. Lucius was in pain, emotional pain. Draco unconsciously walked forward towards his parents and stopped two feet behind them. Narcissa looked up at him and set one hand free from her husband's grasp to hold Draco. He took his mother's hand and squeezed it as he walked over to what he had once recognized to be a family.

_Draco was relieved to finally get out of his house and begin his first year at Hogwarts. Lucius and Narcissa took him to the station, said their goodbyes and he boarded the train. Relief washed all around him 'Finally, a change of scenery' he thought to himself as he pushed himself past the crowd of students towards the cart he knew he would find Crabbe and Goyle in._

"Crouch has been captured and imprisoned to Azkaban, they already held his trial and he has been sentenced to the dementor's kiss," Lucius broke the silence.

Lucius had been affected by the news, Crouch was a close friend of his and the Malfoy family. Draco felt sympathetic towards his father and cautiously place his hand on his father's shoulder as an attempt to offer some comfort to him."The Dark Lord's orders are clear," Lucius announced, "we need to find a familiy to look after Silver Crouch."

Draco thought he was dreaming. He straightened up at the sound of Silver's name and felt a sudden surge of excitement race through his veins. Narcissa felt her son's change in attitude and urgently turned to Lucius with hope in her eyes "Lucius, why don't we bring the girl into our home? We have plenty of room and I really think that Crouch would have preferred it this way, instead of leaving her in the hands of a stranger".

Lucius stepped away from his family and turned his back towards, he grinned and quickly shook it off and stared at the fireplace.

Draco interrupted, almost a little too quickly for his father's liking "I think that's brilliant mum," he smiled, "Father, I think that she would feel the most comfortable here, at least for whats left of the summer."

"She'll stay with us until the semester begins, seeing as I'll be away on the Lord's orders mostly," he paused for a moment "She'll have to stay close and continue her schooling at Hogwarts of course."

Narcissa smiled triumphantly as she went towards her son and lead him up the staircase towards his room. He followed her quick footsteps but then noticed them becoming slower until they paused. Draco faced his mother to see what had made her stop and noticed her dazed expression.

"I'm so glad to see progress in your father," Narcissa smiled sadly, "I mean it's not like him to do something so..kind." His mother's words sunk into his head, he was so happy after hearing the news that he failed to realize his his father's complete change in character downstairs.

"It's a bit unlike him mum," he confessed, "I 'spose the news about Crouch has really gotten to him". Narcissa nodded her head in agreement, "Well let's not bring it up again then shall we? I don't want him to change his mind."

_"Stop it!," a five year old Silver pleaded to Crabbe as he ran off with a chocolate frog she was eating. Narcissa heard little Silver's plea and rushed to the backyard. __"Vincent, stop being foolish!" she yelled as she strode to Silver's side. "Dont worry dear there's plenty more chocolates inside, just ignore that bothersome prat."_

_Silver laughed heartily at the insult the woman spat at him. Narcissa smiled as she grabbed her hand "C'mon now, I'll let you have the rest of the batch all to yourself." Silver thankfully looked up at her with teary puppy dog eyes and ran off with her.  
_

_Narcissa grew attatched to Silver and as the years passed began to love her as one of her own children._

**A/N: I hope you guys liked the chapter. I'm still just introducing the story and talking about the history so the real storyline hasn't even begun. Please review! Thank you so much for reading :)**

**p.s. I'm just finished another image for the story. This one's of Silver and her two friends, Lucy and Rupert. Make sure you check it out on my profile!  
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	5. Memories of him

Before Chapter 5 begins, I just wanted to thank: supercodi95 and DayDreamBabyBee for adding my story to their favorites!  
You two definitely made my day :)

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The last thing that was crossing through Crouch's mind was where his daughter, for all intensive purposes, was at the moment. He paced around his cell, back and forth, side to side, there really was nowhere to go. He wasnt claustrophobic, but imagined this is probably how it felt.  
What is there to do when your waiting until they call you out, because its finally your turn to die? Voldermort had betrayed him, because of him he was imprisoned in this four by four box. He continued pacing with a dangerously increasing fervor.

So why was Silver being passed around from one deatheater family to another? Simple. Voldermort wanted to keep a close eye on her. He had a very valuable asset on his hands and he didn't know when she would come in handy, she was sort of his - secret weapon.

After all, he was in possession of the only family Harry Potter had left.

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_Voldermort killed James and Lily Potter nearly 15 years ago. Their son is now known as the boywholived - Harry Potter became a legend._

_But there is another, child that is. Silver Lily Potter was born October 2nd, a mere month before they were blessed with the news of Lily's second pregnancy._

_Silver was spared of the tragic events that unraveled that evening, she was staying with Harry's godfather that night - Sirius Black. Sirius went to check on his friend Peter Pettigrew that night, as he usually did. Pettigrew was gone, he knew something was wrong and rushed to the Potter's._

_He had arrived too late, his dear friends were dead._

_Amidst the destruction he heard a baby crying and he began to dig through the debris. One-year-old Harry was still alive._

_He quickly ran out of the house with Harry and Silver in hand and ran into an unusually large man which introduced himself as Rubeus hagrid. Hagrid explained to Sirius that he had to take the children to Dumbledore immediately, strictly under his orders._

_Black refused to give him the children and after an hour of negotiating, he was convinced that handing the children over was the only way to keep them safe._

_After speaking to the the ministry, Dumbledore felt that it was best if they separated the children indefinitely. Harry was left on the doorstep of Lily's sister Petunia, a muggle family, while Silver was placed under the care of Crouch, a death eater, as a part of his probation._

_Aurors were sent to watch over Crouch and the child as a situation was still extremely risky, but this was the only way the two Potter's would never meet, guaranteed._

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The news that followed Crouch's arrest almost sent Silver into convulsions.

She had received an elaborate piece of paper from an unfamiliar owl, she cautiously stretched her fingers to just barely reach the tips of the envelope. She noticed how neatly her name was written on the front, this was definitely not from anyone she knew. She flipped it over and opened the letter. Her eyes darted around the letter as she read the elegant writing again and again.

"What?" she whispered, stunned.

She scanned the letter one more time, checking to make sure she hadn't made any errors with her now unclear and foggy vision. Tears were threatening to escape, but she pushed them away.  
She didn't know what affected her most - the fact that she was being forced to transfer out of Salem and start at a new school out of the country or that she was moving in with the Malfoy's.

For the second time that week, she felt her life once again spinning out of control.

_"Silver! are you ok?", Draco ran to his best mate's side as she was sent hurtling towards the floor in pain. He grabbed onto her shoulders and carefully placed her head on his lap. He studied her pain stricken face as he softly took one of her hands in his and left his free hand under her head._

_"Come back to me mate," he begged._

_She squeezed his hand tightly in response. He moved his hand from her head to move a few stray hairs from her face, he wanted so badly to take her pain away - but settled for just holding her until it ceased._

_She had accidently stumbled into a feud between two death eaters and ended up somewhere in between a cruciatius curse. She had only been under the spell for a mere 2 seconds, but her pain was unbearable._

_Silver clutched on to Draco's shirt as she cried uncontrollably, she had never felt so much torture in her entire life. Draco softly pulled her into an embrace, in response she put her arms around his waist as she dug her face into his chest. He waited patiently, and stroked her hair anddown her back to comfort her._

Silver abruptly sat up in her bed.

'It was a dream', she thought to herself and looked around the dark room, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, it hadn't been dark when she fell asleep - what time was it?. She cradled her knees and unconsciously grinned. It wasn't a dream, a memory more like it - one of her many treasured times with Draco. He was so comforting. All of her memories before Salem had been tucked into a small corner of her mind, she didn't realize how bittersweet thinking of him would be.

Silver shut her eyes tightly in an effort to bring the memory back. Nothing. She sighed in frustration and let herself fall back on the bed. 'I want to think of him again' she ordered, as if her brain would follow her orders.

He was important in her life, more than she thought, and it wasn't until that moment that she realized just how much she missed him. Before she drifted off to sleep again, the door flung open, but she was too groggy to care to notice who it was.

Lucy poked her head into the room, it was past noon and Silver had been sleeping since yesterday afternoon. Carefully, not wanting to startle her friend, Lucy cleared her throat to announce her arrival.

"You haven't said a single word to us for two days Silly... I'm really worried about you."

Silver could hear the worry dripping from her friend's words and slowly sat up to face her.

Her friends called her Silly because she was as the word entailed - silly. The fact that her name started with Sil - just made it even more appropriate.

She looked up at Lucy " Do you remember Draco Malfoy?"

Lucy looked confused."Of course, I remember you talking about him a lot first and second year," She said. Her eyes widened suddenly, "Malfoy, as in Draco Malfoy," her mind was hard at work connecting the dots. "Your moving in with Draco and his family - I can't believe i didn't think of that!"

She jumped up from the bed and lifted Silver along with her "Don't you see, you have nothing to worry about! You and him go way back - I'm sure he's already ordered all of his little house elves to get planning a welcoming party." she eagerly exclaimed.

"What if he doesn't rememeber me Lu?" Silver slightly shifted nervously.

"I think it's completely impossible to forget someone you've known for so long," Lucy said reasurringly, "besides its _you_ we're talking about."

Silver smiled sheepishly and pulled her friend into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh merlin! I can't breathe!" Lucy gasped for air, Silver quickly responded,"That's what you get for being the amazing person you are."

"Im outraged! I thought i was the most amazing person you knew." Rupert faked a frown hoping to gain some false sympathy from the girls.

"Finally, you made it!" Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed his hand to bring him into the room.

"Ruppy, did you come all the way here just to see us?" Silver grinned as she batted her eyelashes.

He laughed "There was no way I was going to let you two have all the fun without me."

And it was cherished moments like these that made Silver feel the slightest hope that everything would be okay in the end.

X

Three days was all Narcissa had before her guest would arrive, and she had all available house elves fixing up one of the many uninhabited rooms in the house. She saw to it that all the furniture was rearranged and polished to look like new, and even put in a little labor herself by conjuring up an exotic deep shade of purple to repaint the walls.

Draco walked over to where he knew he would find his mother and smirked. In truth, he was really excited that Silver would be moving in with them - but incredibly nervous. Strange little creatures would apparate into his stomach whenever he thought about her, he had no idea what they were.

X

There were three days before Silver had to leave her friends, her school and her life behind to start all over. She wasn't quite sure about how she felt. She was definitely sad, that was a given - but, she was kind of excited too. Her thoughts were cut short as Hermes screeched loudly.

"Don't be rude." she was quick in scolding her chocolate colored owl, Hermes.

A smile played on her lips as she reminisced to the time she had gotten her owl.

_"You named it after a muggle?" Draco spat, obviously apalled._

_"He's not a muggle Malfoy," she retorted, "His name is Hermes and he is the messenger to the Gods." Silver was very curious about muggles and their culture, so she often visited their public libraries in England and read about their interests and history._

_Draco scrunched his nose as if he smelled something rotten. "Gods, muggles, no difference - they're all equally dirty."  
She sighed in defeat, he was completely hopeless._

Silver looked around her room, her friends came back with her to America so she could pack up the small remainder of her things at home.  
Rupert knocked on the door almost inaudiably and let himself in. She smiled at him as she finished putting Hermes back in his cage.

"How's the packing coming along?" he asked.

"It's coming." she responded. He grinned and walked towards her, "Silly, you know, I..well us...and me too but I ..." he stammered hopelesly, he wasn't one to talk about how he felt, "..I'm going to miss you."

Before he had time to look up at her, he felt small hands wrap around his waist. "I'm going to miss you too, the both of you," she continued, "I don't know how I'm going to manage getting through this year without you guys."

She pulled away and eyed him deviously - "But you know, your lucky you two still have each other."

He felt his face go red, she beamed "I knew it! it was so obvious!"

His mouth hung open as he struggled for words. "Dont worry though," she winked, "a little owl told me, and it wasn't Hermes, that she has a bit of a crush on you too."

The timing couldn't be more perfect. Silver was leaving, and her two best friends were secretly in love - she wasn't there to get in the way anymore. It was fate, she was sure of it.

But, the truth was, Hogwarts seemed shady to her. Salem was a safe haven, nothing bad ever happened there. Hogwarts on the other hand, was constantly under attack by he-who-must-not-be-named, according to the _Daily Prophet_, and having some strange encounter with him this year wasn't something that was at the top of her to-do list. All she knew was that in order for her to survive the year, she had to stay clear of some boy named Harry Potter. That was the one name she probably heard at least once a day from her Professors, he was the reason for Voldermort's persistence.

**A/N: Thank you for reading and pleeeeeeeeease review! :)**


	6. Grey skies and eyes

Thank you so so much DayDreamBabyBee for your kind review!! Once again you have managed to make my day.

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The day had arrived and Draco's stomach was in knots. He couldn't believe he was finally going to see the girl that had been abruptly removed from his life because of his father's absurdity. He was sitting in the kitchen attempting to swallow down his breakfast as Lucius walked in.

"Good morning Draco." he said blandly.

Draco nodded, "Morning father."

He walked towards his son and faced him "I trust your in high spirits, seeing as we have a guest joining us today," he carefully studied his son's face.

"Oh yes, ecstatic," Draco sarcastically retaliated with a boring look on his face.

"Hmm..," Lucius grunted, "Well i regret to inform you that you will not be able to greet her once she arrives, your mother and I require for you to run some errands for us at Diagon alley."

Draco scoffed. "Father, what could you possibly need from there? I already have everything I need for school next week and-"

"I dont need to explain anything to you Draco," Lucius interrupted. "Just do as your told, the house elves have a list for you by the front door, I suggest you finish your breakfast in haste and find your way out".

Draco watched him exit the kitchen and felt resentment rush through his veins. He hated his father, Lucius wanted to take all his happiness away from him. Draco was determined to be back in time to see Silver, he just needed to hurry and finish all the errands as fast as wizardly possible.

He ran to the front door and took the list from the elf, he scanned the parchment and rolled his eyes. Why was he surprised to see that list was full of impossible demands?

X

"I guess this is it," Silver felt a lump form in her throat.

She and Lucy had spent the past couple of weeks at Rupert's house in Boston so she could pay her previous school a visit and inform them of the most recent happenings in her life. The headmistress at Salem immediately infromed Dumbledore, and he gracefully accepted her into Hogwarts as a fifth year, her respective year.

X

"Professor McGonagall," said the voice of Albus Dumbledore. "I have just been informed that Silver Crouch will be joining us at Hogwarts this year." Minerva harshly spun around, anxiety written on her usually strict face.

"But Albus, I thought she wasn't meant to cross paths with Potter," she stated in apprehension.

"Yes, but you dont possibly think they'll ever find out do you?," Dumbledore questioned. "Either way I think its best to have her here where we can watch her, I think Voldermort might have a plan brewing and we need to catch on before its too late".

McGonagall nodded in agreement. "Wel then I 'spose its best if she has a private sorting ceremony as well." she stated. "We don't want to draw too much attention to her."

X

It was as if the day was mourning with the trio of friends. The sky was dark, grey and somber - resembling their own feelings. Lucy and Silver embraced for what seemed an hour. Drops of rain were beginning to form in the sky and fall sparingly, but they didn't seem to notice.

"Lu she's turning green, at least let her come up for air."Rupert pointed out and the red head reluctantly let her go.

Silver barely had time to fill her lungs with air before Rupert tackled her. Her lungs were collapsing, she was sure of it. She hugged him back wiping away her tears in his red polo shirt, she was grateful for the rain - now her tears would easily be confused with the increasing down pour.

"Kill them with kindness." Silver choked out as Rupert let her go. "You two are taking that saying a bit too literal."

They laughed as they heard something approaching, Knight Bus had arrived to take her to Malfoy Manor, she glanced at the bus and then back torwards her friends - which she noticed were holding hands.

She smiled, holding back her reappearing tears. She had to stay strong. This was no time to break down, the amount of body fluids she had cried this week alone were enough for her entire lifetime. She was a blubbering fool, when had she become so soft?

She boarded the bus drowsily, and was thrown to the back window as the car accelerated. She immediately regretted her poor choice of transportation.

X

Before she knew it, and several bruises later, she was standing at the grand doors of Malfoy Manor. Her insides had traveled around her entire body during that bus ride - her main concern was making sure she didn't puke out her insides on the Malfoy's doorstep.

She raised her arm to knock, but couldn't find the stregnth to do it. So many questions were running through her mind, she started to feel dizzy. She wanted to just run away and stay at Salem and live with her friends forever.

Just before she had mustered the courage to attempt lifting her arm again, what would have seemed like such a minuscule task if this particular door belonged to some other family - another frightening thought escaped her mind. How were the Malfoy's taking this? Did they even want her here - did Draco want her here? While she was trying finding a way to swim out of her drowning thoughts she felt movement in front of her and before she had time to plan her next course of action, immediately jerked her head up into a pair of penetrating grey eyes.

X

"Ronald!" Hermoines scream was bounced off the walls and echoed the dark room.  
"Bug off Hermoine!" Ron argued. Harry on the other hand decided it was best to not argue with the bushy haired girl, and settled for pretending to snore a little hoping she would feel bad and leave them alone.  
Hermoine huffed "Your mother has been downstairs with your breakfast and - we have received letter's for the each of us from Hogwarts!" She forgot her anger, she wanted to be prefect this year so badly! Her eyes twinkled brightly, it seemed as if a Lumos had been casted inside her pupils.

She shook her head at the snickering coming from Ron's bed, ugh he could be so frustrating sometimes.

"Fine, if you two aren't coming down," she threatned, "I'm going to rip apart your letters."  
After no response, she pursed her lips and loudly turned around shutting the door behind her.

Ron and Harry smiled, finally they can enjoy their last day of sleeping in before Hogwarts began.  
Ron drooled and brought his covers closer around his body. The door swung open again.

"Merlin! I'm prefect!" Hermoine shrieked as she ran towards Ron's bed and shook him awake. "Bloody hell Hermoine why-" he was cut off when Hermoine threw her arms around his neck. He felt the blood rushing in his face forming an obvious blush on his freckled cheeks, he hated being so pale.

"You've been made prefect too!" She said excitedly as she pulled away.

Ron was happy to hear he was prefect, but concluded that Hermoines sudden embrace was so much more exciting. Harry laughed as if he had read Ron's thoughts and broke the awkward tension, "Congratulations you two." he smiled. "What happened to ripping up our letters?"  
Hermoine looked down embarassed but quickly stood up and regained her composure. "Well then, I guess you should be thankful i didn't".

X

She slowly stared away from the grey eyes to the face attached to them, and the body attached to that.

"Ah Silver, I hope you traveled well" the tall blonde man hissed as he addressed her. Lucius was even creepier than she remembered.

"I did Mr. Malfoy, thank you for having me."

She heard small footsteps from behind him and a blonde woman that looked very similar to Lucius, but at a much smaller scale, appeared.

"Oh my, how you've grown darling!" Narcissa continued. "Look at how beautiful you are. She grabbed a couple of strands of Silver's wavy hair and played with them before she looked up at her again.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, its great to see you again." she forced a smile, Narcissa beamed at her response and lead her into the house for the full tour.

The mansion was just as she rememebered, gigantic. She felt herself gawking as Narcissa showed her around the house. Almost an hour later, the blonde woman finally lead her down a corridor on the second floor to an elegantly carved wooden door.

"And finally this -" she paused for effect "this is your room Silver."

Silver entered through the small crack in the opening door, her eyes widened in awe and she unintentionally dropped her bags.

Narcissa looked up at her sudden movement and smiled widely."I hope you like it, I wanted to make this transition for you as smooth as possible and if there's anything you need at all please just let me know."

Silver glanced over at the woman, just in time to wipe the drool off her face."No, No!" she shrieked a little too loudly. She mentally slapped herself and readjusted her high-pitched voice."Its really, really nice - Thank you so much for everything Mrs. Malfoy."

"Well then, I'll let you settle in and I'll have one of the house elves call you down when its time for dinner." Narcissa was quite pleased with herself. "And its Narcissa, no need for formality here."

Silver genuinely smiled as Narcissa closed the door of her new bedroom. 'Wow' she felt it was alright to now openly gape at her new bedroom. The walls were painted a deep shade of purple her furniture was a rusty white. There were white orchids and sunflowers all around the room and it smelled amazing. Her bed had a canopy and the entire roof of her bedroom was covered in vines. Windows surronded the room, she imagined how the sweet rays of the sun would taste as they woke her up tomorrow morning. It was the most beautiful room she had ever seen; She had been stressed and worried for no reason, look at everything Narcissa had done for her just to make her feel comfotorable.

She was almost too captivated in the room before she realized something. She hadn't seen Draco yet. 'Mrs. Malf, i mean, Narcissa didnt mention him.' She strode to the door, where her bags had opened and pieces of clothing were now on the polished, tiled floor.

She tried to distract herself and put her clothes in the fresh drawers, but her nerves were kicking in again. A sharp breeze ruffled the curtains of the balcony. Burning curiosity lead her to the open doors and she scanned the backyard - Still no Draco. She growled and sat on one of two small garden chairs placed across from each other around a small mosaic table.

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**A/N: Please Review! :)**


	7. Personalized Constellation

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DayDreamBabyBee - Thank you soo muchh! Im really glad your enjoying the story :) All of that is coming very soon!

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An irritated Draco appeared out of the fireplace - he arrived home a little after dinner. The manor was dark, 'I suppose everyone's gone to sleep' he thought as he turned on the lights in the kitchen and had a house elf prepare him dinner.

He was upset that he hadn't made it back in time to meet Silver and even more bothered when he progressively found that his fathers ridiculous "errands" were nothing but a wild goose chase. He pulled out an elegantly ornate metal framed chair and slowly sat down. He exhaled as he raised his hands up to his face and covered his eyes - he was tired from his senseless run around Diagon Alley.

X

Silver was on her way down the endless staircase when she had heard the wood cracking in the fireplace. Strange, there wasn't a fire burning - no one in the house was awake now, that she knew of at least. The sight of the barren fireplace triggered a distant memory. The Manor was connected to the floo system. Draco had once told her about how his house had recently been linked to the system - if memory doesn't mistake her, he wasn't thrilled in the least with the new entrance to his home.

She decided she had two options. Run off into the incredulous safety of her room, or stay and risk running into what she reasonably concluded would be a dangerous person. It didn't take long to decide, once again curiosity had gotten the best of her - she ducked down and hid behind a column on the staircase. The house was very dark and she had convinced herself that there really wasnt any chance of anyone seeing her, besides, at this point the only wizard she was afraid of was Lucius. She thought back to her dinner with the Malfoys.

_Narcissa and Silver were the first to sit. Narcissa smiled as she turned her head towards the dark haired girl. Her eyes were blue, beyond blue. They were so light, they seemed almost unreal. But beyond that they were warm and caring. She smiled back at the woman's kindness. She handed Silver a list of her school books and a letter from Hogwarts. Silver scrutinized the books, they were very large, she took two in her hands - and heavy. Narcissa diligently explained what she should expect at Hogwarts her fifth year, including the OWLS exam in June. Silver rubbed her temples feeling as if her head were about to explode with all this information - not to mention with the increasing weight clasped between her arms._

_Lucius slammed the door behind him and once again Silver fell victim to his unpleasant stare. He dissected her as she fidgeted in her seat. He didnt speak very much. He silently ate his food and kept his eyes down at his plate except for an incidental glance followed by what she had started to realize as his trademark smirk when he excused himself from the table. His smirk wasn't friendly in the least bit, it was borderline malicious and made her feel extremely uncomfortable._

A flash of green light erupted towards the room in front of her and brought her back to reality. She hesitantly poked her head out of one side of the marble column, carefully avoiding contact with it - it seemed so clean and, expensive. A figure emerged from the extinguishing beam and gracefully stepped from the unnaturally glowing hearth. She felt her eyes travel up the top of his blond, almost white hair and down his tall, lean body - he wasn't skinny, he was actually very attractive. 'Stop it, you don't even know who this is' she scolded herself.

She continued to examine him closely as if he were the cryptic text in one of her school books. He looked around the room and turned towards a small trace of light emanating through a window. She felt her breathing halt - his face came into clear view as he swiftly turned his head past the staircase, to the quiet footsteps of a house elf exiting the room. The moonlight shone off his pale skin accentuating his pointed features. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as memories of the once small, blond boy flooded her mind. She once again found herself examining his face but this time, was drawn to his eyes. His steely grey eyes were enticing, she found herself lost in a trance, but was quickly interrupted when he jerked his head away from the open window.

'Draco' she thought. She continued to watch him as he made his way into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. She exhaled loudly due to the fact that she had forgotten to breathe.

She slowly crept up to her room but her thoughts about Draco Malfoy were ferociously running laps around her head. He had changed so much. Yet in many ways, he was still the same. He had certainly grown several inches. She chuckled almost inaudibly as she remembered how she had always been a little taller than him when they were younger - that was without a doubt not the case anymore. She was pretty sure that he would most likely be one or two heads taller than her. The reminiscing continued. He still had his hard shell of hair sleeked back and perfectly put together as always. And then she remembered his eyes, wow his eyes. She definitely remembered those cold grey eyes. He always had his guard up and the few times she would actually see expression in his eyes were when they were together - laughing and messing around. That was the only time he was completely readable.

She wondered if he would still be that way when they would officially see each other tomorrow. Unwelcome visitors once again inhabited her mind - Where had he been all day? Was he avoiding her arrival? Her stomach churned in cartwheels as she thought about how she would have to meet him face to face tomorrow and what his reaction would be. She crawled under the covers of her bed and tried to fall asleep but failed as she tossed and turned all night.

X

Narcissa was on her way to the bathroom when she heard muffled sounds coming from downstairs. 'It must be Draco', she walked down the stairs towards the light in the kitchen. Her son was eating his dinner absent-mindedly, and she smiled as he missed his mouth and a piece of roast beef fell on the table. She stepped around the kitchen counter and tapped him on his shoulder. He jerked up and smiled at his mother as she passed her delicate hands through his messy hair - he had forgotten to put his usual handful of gel this morning.

"How were your errands Draco?"

Draco rubbed his eyes "Ridiculous mum, I couldn't find anything so i just came home".

Narcissa looked at her son with sympathy as she strode to his left and took the seat next to him. Her face was full of remorse. "Draco he really didn't want you to get him anything, I'm not sure as to the reason, but he just wanted to have you out of the house when Silver arrived."

He looked frustrated "Why?" he questioned.

She shook her head "I don't know dear." Her turquoise eyes flicked down in silent shame of what she had permitted her husband to do.

The two sat in silence in the desolate kitchen. His eyes were flickering shut in exhaustion when Narcissa unexpectedly broke the quiet.

"She's matured into quite the young woman," she spoke softly. He perked up and managed to maintain his eyelids peeled. "She's lovely, beautiful even," she continued moving her gaze up at her son and noticed his prying eyes. "She was a bit shy today but I think once she sees you again she'll feel right at home."

X

Draco was befuddled with thoughts of her, how she would look after 5 years. He strode past her room and was tempted to open the door, just to catch a slight glimpse, but decided against it. 'That would make me somewhat of a stalker' he laughed silently as he walked into his bedroom, which was conveniently 5 doors down from her's. 'Mum's up to something..'

_"Look at that one," Draco nudged Silver in the arm as he pointed up towards the night sky, it was beautifully lit with starts and he decided it would be a perfect night to go out and stargaze.  
"That's the Draco constellation isn't it?," She deliberately mentioned. Draco looked please and smiled brightly._

_The two children were sprawled out on the grass in the Malfoy's garden._

_"Yes it is." he turned his head to look at her "I have a constellation named after me." he grinned and watched the corner of her lips slightly tilt upwards. She was fighting a smile._

_"Oh yeah because the day you were born they decided to rearrange the stars and name an entire constellation after you!". He couldn't help but admire her sarcasm but rolled his eyes for effect._

_"you can't just play along for a second can you?" she sat up and stared down at her fair-skinned companion. "No" she nodded with an complimentary smirk that could have given Draco's a run for his money._

_"You really need to stop spending so much time with me Silver, its scary how your starting to act like me." he teased._

_She glared at him. "What?! I am not!"_

_He answered with a reflection of her smirk a minute ago. It was true. She broke into a fit of giggles and grabbed on to her side as Draco tickled her. She was laughing so hard, she was crying. Her contagious laugh automatically sent Draco into his own fits of laughter before she retaliated and tickled him back in revenge.  
_  
Draco and Silver smiled in their sleep.


	8. Platform 9 and what?

**Thanks so much to my amazing reviewers, DayDreamBabyBee and CrouchingCrookshanks, and everyone that put my story on alertt :) :) :)  
I got inspired with all the feedback i was receiving, so this is a pretty long chapter  
i hope you all enjoy it!**

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The sweet sun rays peeked through the spotless glass of an open window in the violet room. Silver's eyelids fluttered slightly as the intense beams reached her bed and pass her sheets. Fresh linen, she inhaled the scent of her pillow as her face dug into the soft fabric. Waking up in her new room was as marvelous as she had imagined yesterday. She wiggled her face off her pillow and turned on her side. That's right - yesterday was yesterday. Today is the day after yesterday. Which in conclusion means, today she had to board the Hogwarts Express and arrive at Hogwarts.

To say she was nervous was an understatement. Starting a new school, seeking out new friends, some nonsense about being sorted. How can someone be sorted? It seemed so foreign to her. She apprehensively began to find her way out of the warmth of her sheets and stared at the contrast at the open window in thought. Footsteps could be heard from outside her door, and she made out a faint knocking on a door nearby.

X

Draco abruptly forced his eyes open at the harsh knocking on his door. He looked over at the clock by his king sized bed - 7 a.m. It had to be Lucius, waking him up at such an exaggeratedly early time. There was still plenty of time to catch the train. The man let himself in to the dark room and pulled the curtains to the side, the sun hit the drowsy boy and he felt as if he was melting - if the myths about witches and wizards were true, of course.

"Your still asleep." Lucius said, a slight annoyance in his voice.

Draco sat up quickly - so quickly he dropped his sheets on the floor. "You seem to be a bit agitated" Lucius paused. "Are you nervous? This is a critical year for you Draco."

"Mum told you I - ." Draco was cut short.

"She did. Prefect is a serious responsibility son....I advise you prove the Malfoy name proud." Lucius threatened.

Draco was now wishing he hadn't been named prefect, as usual his father inflated the situation times ten. "I will father." Draco hissed back. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to get dressed and ready."

"Watch your tone, Draco." Lucius threatened slowly and stormed out of the room.

X

Silver pulled her already stocked trunk from under her bed. She hadn't bothered to unpack, there really was no point. The door from which the knocking had come from slammed shut and faint footsteps grew into loud steps and the sounds suddenly stopped in front of her door. She was nervous again. The Malfoy that was standing outside her door clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Lucius passed his hands to smooth the flyaways in his hair from his rapid rampage through the corridor. He composed himself and regained his calm demeanor. He knocked just loud enough for Silver to hear and calmly called out to her.

"Silver, I hope your getting your things together. Narcissa will be taking you to the express in an hour and a half the latest." He waited for her response.

"I'm almost ready ." she answered, a couple of pitches higher than normal. Lucius rolled his eyes sand turned on his heel, towards the staircase. The worst was over, he wouldn't have to have any kind of communication with that orphan after today. Narcissa would take the Potter girl to the station and once she was on board, he would bring Draco.

X

A house elf tapped the door and cautiously let himself in. "Misses, I take trunk for you." the stubby elf asked. Silver nodded gratefully and smiled. That was her cue to go downstairs. She waited for the elf to leave and looked around the beautifully ornate room. She sighed anxiously at the thought of leaving her new, temporary residence to yet another new address.

_Draco was outraged, infuriated, fuming when he heard the news._

_"What do you mean your leaving?" he spat at the somber dark haired girl sitting in front of him. Silver brought her legs up to her chest and cradled them for a little before she answered.  
"It means I'm moving and probably never coming back!" her eyes were red from crying all morning. "Barty just came into my room this morning and told me to get ready as usual....and then told me to enjoy my last day with you and your mum"._

_Draco snarled. "I know this has something to do with my father, I just know it." Silver softly grabbed his clenched fist and he immediately softened it at her touch. She looked up at him sadly._

_"I don't want to leave Draco, but I know this is non-negotiable."_

_"I can - no I will talk to my father about this, maybe I can convince -."_

_Silver laughed, but without humor. "Listen to yourself, talking about convincing your father of all people."_

_He knew she was right. Lucius wouldn't budge. She was upset so he weakly attempted to distract her. "Well we can't mope around forever. We'll write to each other and keep in touch. And when I learn to fly - I'll be over in America visiting you all the time. And just wait until I learn how to apparate!" Silver smiled brightly and nodded in agreement._

X

Silver and Narcissa arrived at the station shortly after. With her trunk and Hermes in tow she followed Narcissa's quick pace.  
"Why are we walking so fast?" she managed to ask between breaths.

"To have as less contact possible with the muggles." she said in a whisper.

Silver looked around to see if anyone had noticed them, and continued running. Narcissa stopped a stone column and Silver followed.

"Platform 9 -" Silver questioned and turned around to the next sign in the distance. "-Platform 10." She looked at Narcissa puzzled. "Wheres -".

"Close your eyes and run." Narcissa pointed at the middle of the solid stone barrier.

"But there's a wall there, I'll run right into it." Silver hesitated.

"Trust me."

She glanced over at a young girl, she must have been a first year - and she ran, kept running straight into the wall. But she didn't crash into it, like Silver had expected. She went right through it. Here, in the middle of a crowded train station full of muggles. She felt a slight tug on her shoulder as Narcissa pushed her forward. Silver felt sick, but she ran anyways. The wall was getting dangerously closer, so she closed her eyes as Narcissa had instructed and covered her head in her arms waiting for the blow.

"Oomph." she stumbled on the other side and fell straight into the brick floor. "Ouch." she rubbed her elbow vigorously, hoping it wouldn't bruise later. The city, station, alternate universe? she had fallen into was overly crowded with people. Parents were running around with their children, friends were screaming in glee as they reunited, and there was endless chatter coming at her in all directions. Tears began to pick at the outside corners of her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. This would be her, if this summer had ended the way it was supposed to. She would be returning to school with Rupert and Lucy, along with the rest of her friends. And she would be as happy as all of these students were.

She felt like a social outcast, it was at that precise moment when she realized she was truly alone. A wave of sorrow washed through her. The stone felt rough under her bare legs which were still on the floor from her clumsy fall. She began to straighten out her skirt, she had already changed into her new uniform, and felt a shadow hover over her. A small hand reached out in front of her and she jerked her head up to see who it belonged to. She looked up to the friendly face of a red - headed girl. The red head smiled brightly at Silver and helped her up.

"Hi." she smiled warmly. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

Silver felt relieved at the friendliness of her voice and smiled just as big.

"I'm Silver Crouch, it's really nice to meet you Ginny."

Ginny kept the smile across her face. "Are you okay? You were sitting on the floor for quite some time there."

Silver laughed, embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm new - I didn't think the whole running through walls thing would be so rough."

Ginny chuckled. "It takes some getting used to."

Silver felt a lot better - at least she knew one person in this mess of people. A tiny girl with long blond hair skipped towards Ginny.

"Ginny, we were beginning to worry about you - you just disappeared." She stated staring off into a wall. She caught Silver's gaze and smiled absentmindedly. "Hello there, I'm Luna Lovegood." Silver followed her line of vision and wondered if she was talking to her. Unless Luna was introducing herself to a wall, it must be directed at her. Silver smiled and shook her outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Silver Crouch."

Luna nodded and dazed off into a plant nearby. "Crouch?" she whispered to herself. "Sounds familiar."

Silver wasn't sure if Luna was currently with them or if she was preoccupied in a world she had concocted all on her own. Ginny grinned at the bewildered expression on Silver's face and broke her off, "C'mon now, Luna and I will tell you all there is to know about Hogwarts."

Silver took a hold of her luggage and followed Luna out into the crowd. Ginny walked beside her telling her stories about the Gryffindors' and the rest of the different houses, but she Silver too distracted to listen to her vivid descriptions. A glimpse of a silvery blond head a few people ahead caught her eye momentarily, but was swallowed into the crowd just as quickly as she had spotted it.

X

Silver followed Ginny into the very narrow and congested corridors of the train. Today was not her day. She tripped slightly on a boy's shoe and almost fell forward - thank Merlin she didn't. Ginny looked into each little room as she walked by and finally found the one she was looking for.

"Ginny!" a girl with brown untamed hair ran up to her and pulled her into a hug. "Hermione!" Ginny squealed back.

Just then another red head boy walked past Silver and strode to Hermione's side. "Oy, don't pretend like you haven't seen her all summer now."

The girls rolled their eyes in sync. Ginny turned her head shyly and looked at a raven- haired boy sitting by the window. He noticed her eyes on him and he stood up and stepped towards her. His frustrated expression softened as he smiled warmly at her. Just when Silver thought her smile couldn't get any wider, it did. It was like she had it in reserve, just for him.

Ginny looked back at Silver and cleared her throat. "Oy mates, this is Silver Crouch." she pointed her pale finger at her. "I met her just now, and she's a new -" Ginny stopped herself and looked at Silver. "Wait, I never asked you what year you were in.."

Silver grinned "I'm a fifth year."  
The red-headed boy, which was pretty much identical to Ginny spoke first. "Bloody hell are you American?"

Silver looked puzzled at his question. "Yes...is that bad?"

He quickly shook his head, hoping he hadn't insulted her. "No, No not at all - it's just that I haven't really met many people outside of England."

She smiled, he seemed really nice. And funny, she could tell he was silly when she met him. "Well, I'm glad I can be one of the few."

He returned her smile. "I'm Ron Weasley - Ginny's brother." Which then initiated a series of introductions between the group.

"I'm Hermionie Granger." She shook Silver's hand like a professional would. "I'm sorry to ask, but its strange that Dumbledore admitted you into Hogwarts as a a witch already so advanced in her studies." She stated bluntly.

Silver searched her brain for an answer - she had just made friends, and she didn't want to lose them by bringing up the scandal concerning her 'father'.  
"It's a long story" was the best she could conjure. "I transferred from Salem Witches Institute." They all began to ask Silver questions and she laughed at their sudden enthusiasm. The mysterious boy with glasses was once again over by the window - his head in his hands.

Hermione and Ron sat together on one side of the cart, and Ginny took a seat next to the mysterious boy, Harry. Silver didn't want to intrude on their catching up, the four of them seemed very close, and excused herself as she closed the sliding door behind her. The whistle blew loudly and the train abruptly began moving. For the third time that day - she almost tripped, again. She grabbed on to the sides of the tight corridor until the train slowed down into a more controlled pace.

Behind her she heard rather noisy footsteps and a pair of hoarse voices laughing or coughing - she wasn't sure. She moved up against the side - carefully so she wouldn't lose her balance again. One of the boys stopped right in front of her. He was well, a big - big person. She felt small and insignificant next to him, kind of the way Lucius made her feel. She shivered at the image of his menacing stare in her mind.

"Well, well, well." the boy snickered. "What are you doing out here all alone now?" She felt his eyes grazing her from head to toe. '  
I am not a piece of meat' she thought to herself and quickly regained her posture. "I don't see why you care, it's none of your business." her voice was cold, icy even.

The giant boy was taken aback. "Who do you think you are you filthy -" before he finished his sentence he stared at her again, longer this time. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. In an effort to not show how insecure she was really feeling, she plastered on a blank expression. She seemed calm and collected, a talent she had picked up from Draco. Trying to win the silent staring contest, she studied the boys face and her eyes widened in shock.

"Crabbe." she hissed.

"Crouch." he retorted. "Why are you here?" disgust written in the middle of his forehead. "Your supposed to be at Salem - far, far away from us." The last syllable came out dangerously.

"It's so nice to see you too." sarcasm dripping from her every word.

The train felt a lot more stable and Silver decided this was enough good news for the day. She pushed past him, nipping his large arm - which was easily three times the size of her skinny arm. She ran right into his little puppy, Goyle, and greeted him with the same cold expression. Finally, Relief - after a few steps she finally made it to her destination. Luna saw her through the window and slid the door open before she lead her into the small compartment.

X

Crabbe and Goyle broke out in a sprint, leaving several first years pleading for help on the carpet floor in the process. They stopped at their compartment and swung the door open forcefully. The drowsy blond boy sleeping inside jumped at the sound of the two and narrowed his eyes.

"What are you two blubbering fools running around for?" Draco scowled.

Crabbe was the first to speak. "Guess who Goyle and I ran into, just now."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't know, Don't care."

"Oh, I think in this case you would." Goyle spat.

"What Goyle? Was it your mummy dropping off your lunch?" Draco mocked as he brought his deep voice up a couple decibels.  
Crabbe silently chuckled as Goyle turned three shades redder than usual. Draco was proud of his joke and couldn't help but admire his own wit.

Crabbe continued. "I think she's come here just to torture us."

Draco stopped. "She?" He already knew the answer, but decided to ask anyways.

"Yes, she. That git Crouch is on board."

Draco ruffled in his seat and got in his feet to stand in front of them. "You saw her? Where? What did she say?"

Crabbe mistook Draco's anxiety for hatred, instead of interest. "She was down by the corridor." he huffed. "Goyle and I scared her off though - sent her off running somewhere."

Liar.

"Well in what direction did she go running off to idiot!" Draco was losing his patience with his incompetent friend.

"Dunno Draco, bloody hell why do you care so much."  
If looks could kill - Crabbe would be murdered on the cold, hard floor right now.

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A/N: Please Review!


	9. Meetings

Thank you so much for reviewing! :) you guys have no idea how much i appreciate it!

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Silver took the closest seat next to Luna after she had taken her seat. There were two other girls sitting down across from her. They looked at Silver, acknowledging the unfamiliar girl and then back at Luna. Luna noticed the exchange and finally spoke.

"Oh. Everyone - this is Silver." she stated slowly.

The friendlier of the two smiled kindly and nodded. "I'm Blake Trench."

To say Blake was pretty was an understatement. She had shoulder length hair in a dark red, almost auburn color - almost like Lucy. That reminded her! She hadn't owled Lucy since she arrived at Malfoy Manor. She would tonight. Blake's topaz eyes smiled warmly as freckles emerged around her nose as she curved her lips into a small other introduced herself as well.

"I'm Cho." she plainly stated.

Blake noticed her friend's lack of enthusiasm and glared at her. Cho's small slant eyes narrowed, and she huffed.

"So, Are you familiar with the houses yet Silver?" Blake broke the tension.

Grateful for the interception Silver replied. "No actually I'm not. Ginny told me a little bit about the Gryffindoses?" She hadn't been paying attention, Ginny's well endowed explanation on the house was partially ignored, thanks to the blond head of hair that had caught her attention.

Ginny and Blake laughed as Cho rolled her eyes.

"You mean Gryffindors?" Blake mused.

"Yes, yes thats it!" Silver recognized the name and laughed along.

"Well, the Gryffindors are all nice and dandy but....-" Blake paused for dramatic effect.

Luna took over as if it was rehearsed. "The Ravenclaws are much better!" she managed to look distracted and attentive all at the same time. Silver dubbed Luna with a gift. She wished she could look like that during the boring lecutres in class.

Blake giggled at their unision. "You see, there are four houses." she put her clenched fist up in the air.

"The first," her thumb finger shot up. "is Ravenclaw - which would be Luna and I." Cho coughed.

"and Cho of course." Luna corrected Blake, which went red in the face.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that - and Cho."

"Second is the Gryffindor house....which you may have heard of - its very popular. being as the world renowned Harry Potter belongs to it."

Silver nodded her head. She had heard of the boy before, just not in too much detail. Apparently he was popular here though.

"The third, would be the Hufflepuff house, and last - and definitely least -."

"Slytherin." Luna cut in, saying the name in a whisper to make it sound scarier.

Silver opened her eyes widely and place her lips into an 'o' to play along. Luna laughed quietly.

"Slytherin is bad news, stay clear of them." Blake regained Silver's attention.

"Why? Aren't they just students here like everyone else?" Silver questioned.

"They are."

"Well then - why should I be scared of them?"

Blake shook her head disapprovingly. "They are a bunch of pureblood gits that -"

Luna glared at her.

"I'm sorry Luna, your not a git." Blake apologized and continued her rampage. "that think they own the school!" she wasn't done. "And to top it all off, they have the king of all gits as prefect this year....that Draco Malfoy - if i can get my hands on him." Blake trailed off, thinking of ways to kill the wizard without getting caught.

"Draco Malfoy, is that what you just said?" Silver asked as if she was in a hurry.

Blake was now the one distracted, off in her own world of murder as Luna seemed to be alert.

"Do you know him?" Luna stared at her with her big blue eyes.

Silver nervously broke off her gaze. "N - No I don't, never heard of him." she stuttered.

Luna eyed her curiously and slowly turned off to the side, the dreamy look returning in her eyes. Cho sat uncomfortably in between the exchange with the three girls. She didn't seem interested in gaining Silver's friendship. She already had all the friends she needed. Blake finally aroused from her trance and began to talk to Silver about classes and the latest gossip in the Hogwart's social circle.

X

As the train was just two short hours before it drew closer to the carriages and boats, the prefects were asked to join Professor McGonagall at the first cart of the express. Hermione and Ron walked side by side as prefects of the Gryffindor House. Anthony Goldstein found Padma Patil from Ravenclaw in the corridors as Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot, the Hufflepuffs, walked past them. The six of them continued their walk towards the front. An irritated Draco Malfoy tried to find the precise time to run from his compartment in a futile attempt to escape Pansy Parkinson.

"You haven't said hi to me yet Draco." Pansy touched his arm, trying to flirt.

It's not that he didn't like her. He actually enjoyed her company - she was helpful when Potter was around. But he mostly saw her as a sister. And with a sibling, there's good days and bad ones. Today was a bad one.

"Hello Parkinson."

She smiled victoriously. "Are you excited for this year, we're going to spend a lot of time together you know."

He felt baby barf traveling up his esophagus. He nodded and quickened his pace. It was harder for her short legs to catch up and she was practically tripping over her robes to stay in pace with him.

X

So, Silver now knew three things about Draco Malfoy. He was a Slytherin. He was Prefect. And he was the most hated person in Hogwarts. Great first impression.

X

"Congratulations to all of you." the sound of the professor's high pitched voice echoed in the empty cart. "I have called you all here to discuss a new addition to one of your houses."

Before Professor McGonagall had a chance to continue, she was interrupted by Hermione Granger.

"Excuse me Professor, but aren't we receiving a lot of new additions to the houses?" she wondered, referring to all the first years.

"Yes Ms. Granger, we are - but there's one in particular I want you all to be aware of."

Padma looked at Anthony with a raised eyebrow.

"I will need just one prefect from each house to come to the Great Hall after the festivities are done." She looked around at the students confused expressions. "We have a transfer student this year, and the Headmaster and I have decided to hold a private sorting ceremony for her. Once the sorting hat has decided on a house, the prefect belonging to that specific house will lead her up to the dormitories, tell her the password, as well as help her with any questions she might have."

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, clearly aware who this was for. While the other students seemed to be drawing a blank. Well all except for a certain Slytherin. Draco stiffened once McGonagall had mentioned 'transfer student'.

He quickly turned to Pansy and whispered a little too loudly. "I'll go."

Pansy pursed her lips and shrugged. "It's your funeral." she whispered back as she placed her arms across her chest.

X

The day long train ride was finally approaching Hogsmeade station when all the students began to change into their robes. Silver noticed Luna and Blake doing the same and quickly followed. While Silver was slipping into her robe there was a light tapping on the closed door of the compartment. The door slowly slid open to reveal a black pointed hat followed by a strict, timeworn face.

"Ms. Crouch." her urgent eyes landed on the tentative girl. "When your done here, please meet me in the first cart."

She exited as quickly as she had arrived. The girls exchanged glances at each other.

"I didn't know Professor McGonagall was on board." Blake questioned.

X

Draco had fallen behind the group as they followed the Professor back into the rest of the train. He knew that in just a little while, he would see Silver - and he had no idea what to say to her. He began the walk down the corridor to his compartment, he passed window upon window as students couldn't help but glance at the menacing boy. He was used to the stares. They showed respect, no one would ever dare get in his way.

Just then he heard a door sliding shut and caught sight of McGonagall turning from one of the rooms and walking in his direction. He stood in place as she nodded and stepped past him.

'What was she doing in there?' he wondered. He began to walk once more, but at a much slower pace. He casually looked into the rooms leading into his destination of interest. His eyes were transfixed on the upcoming window. Nerves were riveting through his body when what he had been looking forward to all summer reached his line of vision.

_She_ was laughing at Blake Trench's impression of someone. By the looks of it, it might have been Snape. Her waist length long raven hair moved along with her head as she faced to look at someone sitting across from her. She laughed along enthusiastically with the rest of her cabin mates. He remembered her smile. That smile had gotten him through the roughest times of his adolescence. He thought of all the times he could have used that radiating smile during their time apart. Draco hadn't noticed he had stopped moving. He was paralyzed a few inches before her window, his fingers outstretched on the wooden wall on his right side. She was completely breathtaking. He gawked at the sight of his childhood mate.

Her bright green eyes looked forward and then sideways until they were locked into his in a penetrating stare. Her jade eyes sent his body into a nervous fit. Well enforced walls he had built up for so many years, came crashing down - vulnerability reluctantly emerging in his usually cold eyes. His heart began to race at an abnormal speed as it plummeted into his stomach. He unwillingly broke her gaze and looked at his feet in a new found interest. As soon as he regained strength in his legs, he practically sprinted until he knew she could no longer see him.

'Smooth' he scolded himself 'I just looked at her - no actually worse, stared at her.' He furrowed his brows in frustration. It's like his senses shut down. No one had ever roused this reaction within him - especially not from just eye contact. For the one time in his life, he felt at a complete loss for words. He didn't have an explanation for this.

X

"Why were you staring at Malfoy?" Cho interjected accusingly.

Silver jerked her head in surprise as Cho's voice processed in her mind.

"I wasn't." she answered, dazed. Luna was beginning to rub off on her.

"It's not like she could help it Cho, did you see the way he was looking at her?" Blake retaliated. "I think he already has his next victim lined up - and he hasn't even met you yet!"

Silver felt Blake's persistent stare searching her face for a response. Silver was reticent for a moment until she decided it was best to go along with it.

"He has some nerve." Silver rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed.

Luna's preoccupied eyes stared off at the darkness outside after watching the most recent events unfolding before her. Her small pink lips arched upward in a smile.

X

Luna and Blake accompanied Silver to meet the professor. Cho had stayed behind to walk with some friends, avoiding spending more time with the invading intruder.

"We'll save you a seat at the feast." Blake offered enthusiastically.

And with that her new friends disappeared with the rest of the student body. As Silver watched them walk away, Ginny nudged her on her way out and smiled reassuringly - with Ron following her same actions shortly after. Things hadn't gone as bad as she thought. She was surprised by how fast she had made friends. This was all thanks to Ginny of course. If it wasn't her she wouldn't have met Luna, Blake, Ron and Hermione - and Harry. Cho wasn't very friendly, so she decided to erase her from the list of new acquaintances. She turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the students.

She was so focused on pushing past the crowds of unfamiliar faces, she hadn't noticed she walked right in between Draco and Pansy.

"Watch it!" Pansy threatened. Silver failed to notice her high pitched squeal and continued to walk away.

Draco glared at the girl that was now beginning to annoy him more by the second. She quickly noticed his expression.

"What?" she asked. "Are you getting soft this year Malfoy?"

Draco scowled and she whimpered, her confidence wavering. Just one of his infamous looks could make anyone panicky, and he loved it. Pansy walked in silence as she watched Draco slyly turn his head around several times. Envy filled her system - that girl was beautiful, and Draco definitely noticed. He belonged to her. And _that nobody_ wasn't going to interfere.

X

The old woman's face softened as Silver approached her timidly.

"I'm Professor McGonagall." she smiled slightly. "I teach Transfigurations here at Hogwart's."

She sat down and motioned Silver to take a seat as well.

"The students are now being taken to the castle. You can take the last carriage with me. Once we arrive, you can enter the grand hall with the rest of the students. When the Headmaster has ceased to speak and the feasting has begun, he and I will walk out of the Grand Hall and I will wait for you outside the doors. Then I will lead you to Professor Dumbledore's office - where you will be sorted. The prefects for each house have already been instructed to meet outside of his office after dinner. From there, the Prefect from your house will lead you to your dormitory and answer any of your questions."

Silver looked strained - that was a lot to take in, but she nodded.

"Ok." she answered simply.

X

The magically drawn carriage approached the castle. It was completely - unique. At this time of the night, she admitted it looked eerie. But during daylight, it must be an amazing sight. She felt those impudent nerves re-entering her stomach.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Ms. Crouch." the professor smiled.

X

Silver piled behind the final group exiting their carriages. She tip-toed to look ahead as she frantically tried to search for Luna or Blake. The fact that she was alone made her feel even more uncertain. She breezily dragged herself into the crowd so she wouldn't be all the way at the end.

X

Restless students were gathering around two enormous, elaboratly carved doors. Most of them were separated into their own cliques, usually their robes were the same color. Some groups had a green outline on their robes, while others had red, blue or yellow. She was the only person that didn't belong. Well, not yet at least. Some students passed by her and stared at her in confusion - while others immediately ran off to gossip to whoever was next to them. Silver felt defeated after an unsuccessful search for the girls and leaned up against a wall a few inches from some gossiping yellow robes that were on the outskirts of the assortment of wizards. Standing away would definitely get her noticed and Blake would surely see her.

"Good to see you made it out here alive." a deep voice approached behind her.

That voice, she had heard it before. Silver whipped her head around to find herself face to face with the boy who had occupied a permanent residence in her thoughts.

"Malfoy."

X

_"Draco darling, be nice please." Narcissa's soothing voice filled her sons young ears. She left the room and quickly slipped back in with a small girl holding her hand. They were both four years old, although she appeared much younger. _

_"Meet Silver." The small girl gingerly stretched her small fingers out at the boy. He felt his hands moving up to reach her's. Narcissa beamed at the interaction. Silver's glossy curls bounced as she smiled at the moment of contact. He couldn't help but smile back. From then on it was like an involuntary reaction. She made him smile._

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**A/N: Tun tun tun!! The moment has arrived! What's going to happen?! Ah!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Pleasee Review :)  
**


	10. The Sorting hat

**Thank you all so much for the great feedback! :)**

**Just to remind you where we left off -**

_"Good to see you made it out here alive." a deep voice approached behind her._

_That voice, she had heard it before. Silver whipped her head around to find herself face to face with the boy who had occupied a permanent residence in her thoughts._

_"Malfoy."_

_

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_

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Pansy was so infuriated, metaphorical steam was blowing out of her ears.

"Why is he talking to that new girl?" She viciously nudged a girl causing her to moan in pain.

"Ouch! Calm down Pansy." Millicent Bulstrode fired back. "Didn't Vincent tell you the story?"

The small dark haired girl shook her head.

Millicent continued. "That's Crouch's daughter - well not by blood anyways. Malfoy and her were friends when they were younger. Apparently the fool has left him dumbfounded. He's been trying to find her the whole way to Hogwarts."

Pansy screeched. "What?!"

"I told you to calm down Parkinson! Its too early in the year to hear you yelling already."

"What's gotten Pansy so worked up already - she usually waits til the second day of class for that." Blaise Zabini's voice cut in.

Pansy was too engulfed in the scene happening a few feet away from her to defend herself. Her legs began to rapidly move beneath her.

X

"Malfoy." her lips delicately trembled. She wasn't expecting to see him so soon - now. Alone. Completely unprepared.

He eyed her for a moment, admiring her as if she was a piece of artwork hanging from a wall. He caught himself before his hormones got the best of him.

"Crouch." he grinned in a false sense of self assurance.

There was a mix of fear, doubt, happiness, relief, and - something else. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"It's been so long since last time I saw you." he stammered as he slid a pale hand through his equally pale hair.

"Yeah - It has." she flicked her eyes downward momentarily. "How have you been?"

Draco stared at the top of her head. "Same as always." he paused hoping she would face him. "How about you?"

This was not _them_. It was just plain out awkward.

"Been better." A figment of courage she had been steadily building reached her vocal cords, "You know, small talk is completely overrated." She suggested and turned her head upwards to face him.

Emerald and Silver _collided, _sending chills racing up and down his spine. A smile formed on her delicate features, dimples emerging on her cheeks. His smile mirrored hers sending her insides into overdrive. She moved away from the cold wall and approached him slowly.

"You haven't changed one bit I see."

She laughed a little. "No, not really. I blame you though."

"Yeah well that makes two of us then." He said gravitating closer to her.

A strange feeling overwhelmed him and he did something completely unlike him.

Maybe he had finally cracked. Maybe his mind had shut down from the vast amounts of reminiscing and searching it had been doing lately. But whatever it was - he was glad it did.

Draco put his arms around her neck and pulled her closer to him. She willingly returned his embrace and threw her arms tightly around his waist. It was perfect, as if they had never been seperated. Their friendship was so - easy. His heart was pounding louder than a Giant's footsteps at what he had just done. He was certain she could hear it.

He quickly remembered where they were and reluctantly pulled away. He scanned the room for any unfortunate onlookers that he'll have to hex later. Thankfully the doors had already opened for the Great Hall and students were too distracted and hungry to notice where Malfoy had wandered off to. His attention was brought back to Silver.

"So, I hear you have quite the reputation here."

Draco grimaced. How was he going to get himself out of this one. "Father believes fear is the highest form of respect."

"Of course _father_ would believe that." she mocked.

"I don't have a choice, you know that."

Her mouth opened to speak when a voice interrupted her before she could get the words out.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you, Luna -" Ginny stopped herself as her brisk run broke into a faint jog as she caught sight of Malfoy. Ginny hissed as she grabbed Silver by the arm. "Leave her alone Ferret."

Draco rolled his eyes. Of course she had made friends with the Weaslette of all people. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him waiting for his threatening words- but they never came. He looked at Silver almost apologetically for a fraction of a second, hoping the Weasel girl wouldn't notice.

But she did; even though her mind was convinced that there was a possibility that this could all be some type of hallucination working as a weird side effect from the long train ride.

His expression grew empty and uncaring once more as he brushed past her shoulder - ignoring her insult. Ginny's small eyes widened in shock.

"Did I miss it?" She asked herself out loud.

"Miss what?" Silver asked not quite understanding the question.

Ginny whipped her head around as her vision fell on his fading silhouette. She was sure she had missed it.

"He didn't call me any names."

Silver cocked her head to the side, amused. "You alright there, you look sick."

That manged to bring Ginny back to the present time. "Very funny Silver." she laughed.

X

The Great hall was full of frivolity and enthusiasm. Candles were magically floating in the air and ghost's were appearing and disappearing through the meticulously adorned walls and endless high ceiling. The first years had been sorted and were being introduced to all of their new house mates. All While old friends were laughing and chatting while enjoying a wide array of food and drinks together.

A few Ravenclaws were fraternizing with a group of Gryffindors. A Hufflepuff tightly embraced a Gryffindor and exchanged a few words. While another group of Ravenclaw's were mingling with a younger Hufflepuff. It seemed that all the houses got along quite well - except for one.

The Slytherin table was as equally talkative and jovial as the rest of the houses - but their friendship was more exclusive. They remained engaged in the conversations of their fellow Slytherin peers as they ate plates filled with lavish amounts of food.

Silver sat in between Luna and Blake. Cho was directly across from her next to a chatty first year with a big white bow sitting at the top of her perfectly curled ringlets. Silver had spoken to her a bit, her name was Lucinda Lyons and she was very much excited with the results of her sorting.

"You know, my mum was a Ravenclaw, and so was my older sister." Lucinda gossiped. "I can't wait to owl them and tell them the good news! They're going to be so excited!."

Blake joined in the conversation surrounding her. "I know how you feel, my mum was a Ravenclaw too, she was completely ecstatic when she found I would follow in her footsteps."

Lucinda looked at Silver sadly. "You still have your sorting pending don't you. Don't worry - I'm sure you'll be just as happy as we all are when you find out."

She smiled at Lucinda. Lucinda readjusted her droopy bow to keep it from falling.

"I can't wait to make my Ravenclaw themed bow. It's going to be fantastic!" The first year beamed.

Silver watched Professor McGonagall stand up from her seat at the head of the hall and swiftly walk out of the beautifully ornate room.

"I guess that's my cue." She whispered to Luna.

"Good Luck." Luna answered, her eyes unfocused.

She cautiously rose from her seat at the Ravenclaw table and began to walk the long stretch of floor to the distant doors. No one seemed to notice her, what she hoped to be, graceful exit. She didn't trip - that was definitely as graceful as it got for her. Once she had reached the doors she quietly pushed one open, just enough for her thin frame to fit through and stepped out.

As promised, McGonagall was waiting for her outside the doors and began to stride forward as soon as she was sure Silver would be able to keep up. Silver travelled flights and flights of moving staircases and passed millions of portraits cluttered together on the never ending walls. Some whispered to each other as she passed by, and others tried to talk to her and welcome her to the school. The paintings were just as bad as the students.

After the extensive climb, she was finally standing in front of a large statue of a gargoyle. McGonagall whispered a few words silenty and the no longer inanimate gargoyle moved aside as the wall behind it transformed into a long pair of spiral staircases. Silver stood in her place amazed. Salem was nothing like this.

She followed the professor up the stairs into a spacious circular room covered with windows and walls hiding beneath more portraits.

"Welcome Ms. Crouch." a rough voice emanated the room. "I'm Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

X

Draco Malfoy was leaning against the smooth railing of the staircase as he focused on the distant students flooding out of the Great hall on the ground floor. He and the three other prefects were eagerly awaiting outside the Headmaster's office as instructed.

"I bet she's going to be a Gryffindor." Ron stated amongst the muffled voices of the rest of the prefects.

"How much you wanna bet she's going to be a Hufflepuff?" Hannah Abbott teased.

"Your both wrong." Anthony Goldstein interrupted. "She's obviously Ravenclaw material."

Malfoy was obviously annoyed at the lack of maturity of his fellow classmates. Or maybe he was more annoyed at the persistent gnat that kept clouding his thoughts. The hopeless possibility that she might be sorted into Slytherin- with him.

There was no way. He was almost sure she wasn't a Slytherin. She was too caring towards others, she didn't have it in her to insult another person. A quality most Slytherins shared.

X

"Thank you sir." Silver looked up at the bearded man in respect.

His once serious eyes grew kinder, twinkled even. "Well then, please take a seat and we will get you sorted at once." he smiled warmly as he gestured to a nearby armchair.

She couldn't help but notice how comfortable the cushions were as she sat down. But before she had time to fully register her surroundings she felt something being placed on the top of her head and began to hear voices. For a moment she was sure she had lost her mind, until she realized the voice was nothing like her own.

"Intelligent i see." the voice began. "Witty. Cunning. You do have a bit of a Slytherin within you. Hmmm not enough. Your a loyal friend, like a Gryffindor. Extremely creative too. Where to put you?"

The hat silenced for a few seconds before it finally announced, "Ravenclaw."

X

The prefects meanderings were interrupted as the gargoyle slipped out of place followed by two figures emerging from the spiraling staircase. Draco's eyes fell on McGonagall and drifted to the girl behind her. Anxiety was boiling in his veins. He passed his long fingers through his well kept hair to keep himself from fidgeting.

Her strict appearance pushed all the students into standing up straight, hands behind their backs - except for Draco of course, he was finding it impossible to stand still.

"Mr. Goldstein if you please." Mcgonagall ordered after a painful silence - for Draco at least. She outstretched her hand and shifted her body sideways to point in Silver's direction.

Anthony beamed eagerly as he walked towards the new addition of his house, with an added skip in his step.

"Congratulations! I'm Anthony Goldstein." he stated exuberantly.

Silver smiled widely at him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Silver Crouch."

He whisked her away as Ron and and Hannah moaned in defeat. They lost the bet. Before following Anthony, Silver glanced at a disappointed Draco. Ron and Hannah had already begun their journey down the stairs but Draco stood exactly where he was.

She waved shyly and grinned at him as she began to step backwards. He half-heartedly returned the gesture. She turned around, her hair quickly following and ran softly to catch up to the prefect.

She didn't realize what this meant, but for him the consequences were as clear as glass. He was a Slytherin, hence Slytherins are only meant to associate with other Slytherins. Therefore, if he had the math correct, a Slytherin plus a Ravenclaw equals: a negative chance of sustaining their rekindled friendship.

xxx

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**A/N: This was a pretty long chapter. It was originally longer but I had to cut out some pieces but don't worry - the missing pieces will be in the next chapter. I'm already working on it so as soon as I have it done and find the time to post it up you will all see the results of the sorting.**

**I hope your all happy with the decision I made on what house to place her in. I think Ravenclaw was a good fit. Gryffindor is a bit cliché in my opinion, especially for the direction this story is headed. While Slytherin would have made things way _too_ easy - and we don't want that now do we? :) And besides I just really like the Ravenclaw house. And Luna! There's going to be more of her in the story - shes amazing.**

**I'm open for any ideas you guys might have. I'm debating whether I want Silver to become friends with Harry, Hermoine, and Ron so soon - or if I want her to kind of fly on her own with her own friends. Any thoughts?**

**Please Reviewww! :D**


	11. Potions

**I miss my reviews! :(**

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Anthony lead Silver down to the fifth floor towards the west side of the castle as they conversed about Salem, Hermes, and her new house. They crawled up a tightly winding staircase until they reached a wooden door with a dusty bronze knocker. Anthony explained how most houses have a simple, straightforward password to open the door - but not Ravenclaw. The door asks the student a riddle and well only grant you entry if you answer it correctly. Silver jumped back startled as the bronze knocker shifted around and took the shape of a deformed set of metal lips to speak.

_"When you have too much of me you waste it.  
When you have too little of me you rush. What am I?"_

Silver thought about the riddle carefully."Time?" She quickly responded.

_"You're extremely clever."_ The door complimented as it swung open revealing a wide circular room furnished with blue and silver drapes hanging from the walls. The ceiling was in the shape of a dome with a painted night sky and stars, like in an astronomy tower. There were arched windows elegantly curved in with the circular walls. Students were seated around the fireplace either reading or in deep conversation. A familiar blond glanced dreamily at the entrance of the common room and smiled endearingly.

"Your a Ravenclaw! Congratulations!" Luna skipped over to Silver and pulled her into a quick embrace. "Now I must warn you. Beware of nargles, they're everywhere."

Blake laughed at her friend's vivid imagination as she approached them. "I knew it, I saw it in you the entire time." She confidently stated. The trio went up the stairs into the dormitories to show Silver her new bedroom.

X

It was late, very late. Silver had been introduced to a few other Ravenclaw's and they were all very welcoming. Anthony had made sure everyone knew of the new addition and soon boy after girl were introducing themselves. She took a seat on a blue cushioned armchair by the fire place as Anthony sat on a couch across from her along with two others, Savannah Marietti and Dominic Dates. Savannah was older than the three, she was a sixth year. Dominic and Anthony were both in their fifth years. Savannah's blond hair was almost as long as Silver's and fell into a perfectly set of cascading waves sprawling down her back. Dominic was a handsome rugged shaggy-haired brunette, with friendly brown eyes.

Silver felt very much at home. Things had gone extraordinarily well. She liked the house she had been sorted into, they were very welcoming and they she shared a common interest with almost all of them. After a successful conversations with her new classmates, Silver decided to turn in. There was no way she was waking up at 7 a.m. tomorrow for school.

Picking up a loose piece of parchment and her quill, she climbed into bed and began to compose her letter to Lucy and Rupert. She had chosen the bunk on top of Luna's - which she was now beginning to question whether she had made the right choice with the arrangement. Luna bid her goodnight, but before, checked Silver's bed for any wifflebies that might be hiding under her covers.

"Wifflebies?" Silver asked in obvious confusion while Luna pushed her off to one side of the bed and began to pat down her sheets, followed by her comforter.

"Yes, they are almost like nargles, yet they live in beds and in small corners of rooms. There's a lot in the dungeon classrooms. Especially the Potions class. I believe Snape is their breeder."

Silver set her pale lips into a small 'o' and nodded her head in false curiosity. Luna was a character all her own. "Goodnight Luna."

Her eyelids shut in dire need of sleep as soon as her head landed on the pillow. But her dreams took her to just one place - Draco's expression when she had been sorted into Ravenclaw.

X

"Good morning Sunshine."

Luna was standing on the stairs by the side of the bunk when Silver slid her eyes open. Silver stared into Luna's wide blue eyes and jumped in her covers.

"Luna!" She cried, hanging on to her sheets to keep her from falling off the bed.

"Get used to it, she does that a lot." Savannah teased. She had her hair wrapped in a blue towel and was in the process of laying out her uniform on her bed.

"You really should get going, Breakfast is in ten minutes and we get our schedules today. I'm almost ready - Blake's waiting for us in the common room."

Silver grunted tiredly. She had barely gotten any sleep.

After she managed to get dressed - Luna, Silver, Blake, and Savannah walked down the staircase from the tower towards the Great Hall for breakfast along with a group of Ravenclaws. She looked down at her robes. It had a cobalt blue outline on the rim, she felt a sense of pride well up in her chest, she belonged here at Hogwarts - there was no use in mourning over the past.

The group walked into the Great Hall together and headed towards the first empty seats in their usual table. Food magically appeared and they all began to eat. Owls swarmed the hall dropping off parcels and letters to their respective owners while schedules were passed out.

Hermes dropped a letter in front of Silver. It was from Lucy and Rupert. She smiled eagerly and tucked the parchment away in her pocket to read later. Right now, she was trying to figure out where her first class of the day was - Potions. Dominic and Blake were scanning her schedule when Blake yelped.

"We have Potions together now." She eagerly stated.

"Do we?" Silver tugged at her schedule releasing Blake's grip on it. Her eyes widened in excitement. "We do!"

Dominic rolled his eyes playfully. "Well as much as I love hearing your shrieking so early in the morning, I might have to situate myself in another section of the table tomorrow."

"Don't be silly Dominic! You know our shrieks are the reason you wake up in the morning!" Silver sang in the highest pitch her voice could possibly reach.

After eating their breakfast Luna, Blake, and Silver walked out of the Great Hall and separated as Luna headed upstairs to Charms while Blake and Silver headed down towards the basement for class.

The two girls entered the musty classroom. They were early. Blake went to greet two Hufflepuff boys in the back of the class therefore, leaving her behind to find a desk.

"Silver." A boy called out as she traveled down the hallway between the rows of tables. She turned around to face a red head sitting two desks away from where she was standing.

"Hi Ron." She said cheerfully and walked back to him. Hermione looked up from her intense reading and smiled. She was getting a head start on today's lesson by finishing up the first two chapters of their textbook. Harry was sitting behind them with another boy. He noticed her and grinned. He seemed to be in a better mood today than he was at the train.

"Watch it, Professor Snape teaches this class." Harry forewarned. "And he hates everybody."

Silver laughed a little and thanked him for the heads up. She looked around the classroom and spotted Blake sitting in a table with one of the boys she was talking to. She was playing with her hair and batting her eyelashes - the boy definitely seemed to like the attention.

Silver grinned and winked as she caught Blake's attention. Blake shrugged and winked back, tossing her auburn hair over her shoulder and turned her attention back towards the smiling wizard. Silver took a seat at the table in front of Ron and Hermione. The barren classroom began to fill with students as nine a.m. drew nearer. Ron began to ruffle the pages of Hermione's textbook attempting to regain her attention.

"Ronald please I'm reading." She smiled sweetly before slapping his hand out of the way.

X

Draco's first class of the day was Potions with Snape. He found relief in seeing his mentor after the long summer, he needed to talk to someone about what had been unraveling recently.

_Draco walked into the Slytherin common room alone after Silver's sorting ceremony. Pansy was laying on one of the couches and Blaise was sitting on an armchair, examining a text book. They had told him they would wait until he returned._

_"Awe, what happened to your little friend Draco?" Pansy pouted._

_"She's not my friend. And she was sorted into Ravenclaw." Draco hissed. "Why Parkinson, do you miss her?"_

_Pansy gagged._

_"Well friend or not, you know you cant talk to her anymore." She scowled back. "So I'm glad you see things that way, it'll make it loads easier for you - By the way we have patrol duty tonight."_

_Draco scoffed. Did she really think she could talk to him that way and get away with it?_

_"Good luck Parkinson, I hope you have a good time roaming the corridors alone."_

_She opened her mouth to retaliate but was cut short as he slammed the door of the boys dormitory._

What was it that had made her such a pest this year? His head hurt just thinking about her.

He was still a little drowsy from his lack of sleep - along with most of the other students. The first day back always ended late in the night resulting in merely two or three hours of sleep. Luckily the potions classroom wasn't too far from the Slytherin common room. Major benefit.

He walked into class a minute before class was due to start and spotted Pansy and Millicent at a table towards the front of the classroom, he quickly darted away from their direction. No more Pansy for today. or ever.

His eyes scanned the classroom until they landed on a head of long black hair. He straightened our his robes for the eighth time that morning and corrected his weary posture as he cautiously approached her table. The sound of the legs of the chair scratching against the hard stone floor brought Silver's attention towards him as he pulled out the seat next to her seeking her permission. Her hand gestured downwards for him to sit while she smiled brightly at him. He quickly accepted the invitation and sat down, ignoring the future consequences of his poorly pondered actions.

"Impatient." He teased.

"Fine. Leave." She threatened.

"No actually I think I'll stay, it's a good seat." He grinned as she nudged his arm playfully.

Ron and Hermione had gone into an epileptic shock. They were utterly speechless. Draco Malfoy was talking to Silver. Not only that but he was actually being civil - nice even. They looked at each other in disbelief, their mouths open wide enough to hit the desk under them.

Harry noticed their expressions and laughed at his friends. "What are you two going on about?"

Ron pointed his finger lazily at the occupants of the table in front of them. Harry's eyes narrowed in disgust at the blond head of hair that captured his sight. Just what he needed, Draco Malfoy in his first class of the day. Draco heard their muffled voices behind him and slightly turned his head to see what the fuss was about. Harry Potter was staring at him from his desk behind the Weasel and mudblood. Oh, how lucky - he had picked the best seat in the house. He huffed at the famous trio and turned to face the front of the classroom again. He caught a glimpse of Silver in the corner of his eye - she hadn't noticed.

Snape swiftly entered the dark classroom, lighting a candle by the door before he reached his desk.

"I am Professor Snape and I want you all to open your textbooks to Page four." He looked around impatiently at the clumsy students. "Preferably while I'm still alive please." he ordered, growing irritated.

Silver jumped at the professors lack of manners and bent down to retrieve her book from her messenger bag. The book was huge and she had to put extra effort into lifting it up to her desk. Draco snickered at her insulted expression.

"He's not as bad as he seems." He said in an almost inaudible whisper, keeping in mind Snape's preference for a dead silent classroom. She looked at him ambiguously and exhaled dryly. Snape's voice filled the eerie classroom, complimenting the creepy atmosphere.

X

After an hour and a half of feeble attempts to stay awake, Snape finally concluded their time together.

"Next class, you will all turn in a five page paper on Amortentia potions." The class exhaled and let out disguised complaints to their companions. "Oh not fulfilled with the assignment now are we? Seven pages it is. Class dismissed."

He turned on his heel whisking his cloak around him as he headed to his desk, gathering his papers and books. As soon as the professor hissed his last words, Malfoy stormed out of the classroom and out the door. Silver watched him discreetly, her lips twisting into an unnatural frown. After gathering her belongings, she walked with Ron and Hermione out of class - she joined in at Ron and his mocking impressions of Snape.

"He truly scares me." Silver breathed, exhaling dramatically.

Ron laughed heartily. "Join the club," he continued, "Speaking of frightening people, I'm so sorry for your seating arrangement for the rest of the year."

"Hm?" Silver asked faintly. "What do you mean?"

"Draco Malfoy - your potions partner for the rest of the school year. Bloody Hell, I'd prefer to a huge spider compared to him." Ron shuddered at the thought.

Silver snickered dryly. "Well I'm not too sure about that Ron, would you really prefer a giant hairy spider sitting next to you in class instead of a human being - I doubt it would know too much about mixing potions."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Ron stammered nervously. The image of his worst fear sitting next to him wasn't very appealing.

The group disintegrated little by little as they approached different corridors in the castle. Ron and Harry had Defense against the Dark Arts almost immediately after Potions. They whined about seeing Snape's dreadful face twice before they had a chance to re nourish themselves at lunch. Hermione excused herself to the library. She said something about having to start catching up in Potions. Snape had already outsmarted her by covering three chapters today, instead of the two she was already prepared for. She decided to rethink her strategy and read til Chapter ten, just to be sure. Blake was going on about the Hufflepuff boy she had been eyeing earlier. As far as her story went, she had a crush on him last year - but he never gave her the time of day. Mainly because he had a girlfriend at the time. Well she was especially excited for the beginning of this term because she had heard from Cho that he had broken up with her over the summer. Obviously she was going for it and was squeezing the life out of every opportunity she had.

Silver dropped Blake off at her Charms class and after a few seconds of deliberation, decided to join Hermione in the library to start her Potions paper - that is, if she could find the library.

_"Impatient." He teased._

_"Fine. Leave." She threatened._

_"No actually I think I'll stay, it's a good seat."_

_He grinned as she nudged his arm playfully._

It seemed like no big deal, but for some strange reason - Silver couldn't shake him away from her thoughts. She didn't do anything wrong. Everything seemed to be going okay, but then he just left. No goodbye. See you later. Nothing. He just left, like if she wasn't even there. A part of her was giddy with excitement at the thought of having him sit next to her for the rest of the year but the other half was welled in speculation. Was this the way it was going to be with the two of them for the rest of the year? Blake and the others _had_ warned her about him and his 'reputation', but _her_ Draco was in there somewhere. He had surfaced yesterday and even today - even if it was for just a bit.

She continued her slow paced steps down the long corridors and up the winding staircases towards the library. Her emerald eyes were engrossed in the splintered wooden steps when footsteps began to trail behind her. She paid no mind - it was probably no one interesting enough to distract her concentration. Another set of footsteps joined the first and she heard them grow louder and closer.

"Oy, Goyle look who it is." Crabbe said as he grabbed Silver's shoulder slightly so she could face him.

The two laughed hoarsely. Silver stumbled as her foot lost balance while she was heading up a step but quickly regained her posture as her arm gripped the railing tightly. Her Potions book flew off her hand and fell onto the tip of Crabbe's oversized foot. Crabbe cried in pain but changed his expression to complete anger.

"Watch it Crabbe - seems like you have two left feet." Silver shot at him, turning her back and rapidly increasing her pace up the stairs after she had collected her book.

Crabbe followed her up the stairs, his pace growing at an alarming rate. For a second Silver was one hundred twenty percent sure that this - this was the end. Crabbe and Goyle were going to outnumber her and hex her into the next century. Her knees began to give in - her nerves quickly following. She rounded a flat surface connecting the staircases and felt an arm fall on her shoulder.

Before she took the risk of turning around and being beaten to a pulp by Crabbe, she threw her hand up in the air and met her attacker's face with an unusual strength she had mustered from the adrenaline rush.

"Bloody Hell! Why'd you go and do that for Silver?" Draco Malfoy cried as his hand rubbed his face vigorously.

Silver's eyes widened in utter shock as she instinctively reached up to touch his face but quickly drew her hand back when she heard Crabbe and Goyle's stifled laughter.

"Knock it off the two of you. You look like fools. Blaise is looking for the lot of you and I find you bafoons chasing Silver up the stairs. Merlin, we're Slytherins - not future Azkaban convicts."

His cronies reluctantly obeyed their master and bowed their heads in submission. They shot a faint glare at Malfoy and walked forward, brushing Silver's shoulder roughly. Silver furrowed her eyebrows and grabbed her shoulder in annoyance. She directed her gaze up at Malfoy, which was staring back at his loyal subjects with disgust. He began to speak but kept his gaze fixated on the boys.

"Idiots." he muttered under his breath and Silver let a trickle of laughter escape.

"As they've always been. Well at least I've always known - maybe you just found out?" Silver said as a matter-of-factily.

Draco flicked his eyes downward and met her enticing gaze, followed by his trademark grin.

"When does your next class begin?" Draco asked.

"After break." she answered. "I have History of Magic."

Draco grinned. "What do you say to skipping History of Magic?"

"I can't, it's my first day - I'll be completely lost next class."

"Always the perfect student." He shook his head, a small smile gracing his hard features. "I have Defense against the Dark Arts next." He looked around, as if he was waiting for a light bulb to illuminate the top of his well-kept hair. He wanted to see her, and talk to her - about everything. But unfortunately he knew he couldn't do it with any of his friends around. Actually with anyone around, period.

Silver noticed his hesitation and added."Were you going somewhere? I was actually on my way to the library to start reading over what we covered in Potions today."

Draco beamed, it was as if he had read her mind. "Yeah - I was going up there too." he lied cooly.

"I'm sure you were." Silver rolled her eyes. "Where did you come from anyways? Oh and I'm sorry I slapped you."

He rubbed his cheek and winced. "I can't believe you punched me." he said in disbelief.

She laughed but forced it back in by pursing her lips together. "I'm sorry - I thought you were Crabbe. And I didn't punch you. I slapped you."

They entered the empty library, he walked a few steps behind her when they began to pass by students. None of the distracted students noticed - they were too engrossed in their reading and homework, but he took the extra precaution. When he was sure he was in the clear he gently tugged her elbow and lead her through rows of overflowing bookshelves to an isolated area of the library. It looked like a single soul hadn't stepped foot into it in years. She examined the area and slung her bag off her shoulder, to the floor as she crossed her legs and sat next to her bag. Draco mimicked her actions and looked at her funny - there was a table right next to them. She was quick to notice and shrugged it off.

"I prefer the floor for some reason." she answered casually, opening the cover of her book to the first page.

He kept his gaze fixed in her direction causing a red stain to spread across her cheeks.

"Alright, let's get started." He whispered pulling out his own book and notebook.

* * *

A/N: **Thanks for reading! I really hope you guys enjoyed it. Please Review! **


	12. Envy

**Yay! I'm glad I have my reviewers back!**

* * *

The week had gone on fairly well. She attended her scheduled classes, and it was safe to say there wasn't ever a dull moment – well except for the Professor's lectures. The Professors themselves were – odd to say the least. And the kookiest was without a doubt the Divinations master. The subject itself was sort of like Luna (eccentric, but in a good way) and of course the hazy girl found the subject completely fascinating. For the first time Silver had ever seen her - Luna's usually dreamlike state was set in a locked expression of determined concentration as Professor Trewlany droned on about crystal balls and palm reading. Which was all fine and exciting for the first few minutes – but once the Professor had singled her out in class and predicted a tremulous year for the girl, her interest began to rapidly dwindle.

Wednesday at midnight Silver had Astronomy. The time of the class sent her internal clock a bit out of wack, but she enjoyed Astronomy; there was something breathtaking about the mysteries of the sky and its inhabitants. Cho, Dominic, and Hermione were in that class with her, much to her pleasure. Although Cho didn't seem to like her very much; which made her feel uncomfortable whenever she was near, but it was still nice to have a familiar face around. Hermione on the other hand was warm and caring, the two girls got on well – whenever Hermione found a moment to stick her nose out of books. It was as if schoolwork dominated her life.

But what she really enjoyed was all the food! Those fabulous three times of the day were heaven to her. Firstly because she had never had such a fun time during a meal - sitting with the people she was becoming closer to everyday, and because Barty's peculiar taste in food was unappetizing.

The corridors were all empty, although it was mid-day. Students were either in classes, and those fortunate enough to be on break were enjoying the bountiful sunshine in the courtyard with friends.

"I really think we should reconsider the classes the student is in." Professor Mcgonagall's voice interrupted the silence of the circular room. "There are things we need to take into consideration –. For instance, Defense against the Dark Arts is something she shouldn't be pushed back a year in. She needs to be as up to date with the rest of the fifth years as much as possible – maybe even more!"

The bearded man was pensive as he sat on his long arm chair behind his heavy desk. "Yes Minerva, but she has to be caught up. Salem isn't as dangerous as Hogwarts has recently become. Their curriculum on the dark arts isn't _nearly_ as advanced as ours, she can't possibly be caught up with the rest."

The woman eyed him sternly. "Albus, We don't know what to expect this year. If things take another unexpected twist for the worse – she'll be completely unprepared."

He nodded after a few minutes of silence and rummaged through his drawers for a fresh piece of parchment. He began to scribble neatly curved words into sentences and folded the paper in half sliding it across the desk to the woman.

"Who's the fifth year's professor? Umbridge – correct? Well then send this off to her." He then got on to searching for another scratch paper and writing on it once again. "And give this one to Ms. Crouch – I placed her in next period's class."

McGonagall rushed out of the Dumbledore's office to deliver her letters. She decided the one for Silver was higher priority, and the one for Professor Umbridge would have to wait. The girl was nowhere to be found and just before she was about to quit her efforts, she spotted the student exiting the library. The Professor's heeled shoes tapped on the polished floor, echoing off the walls of the barren hall.

"Ms. Crouch" said the Professor, clearing her clogged throat.

Silver's searched for the voice and smiled timidly as the figure approached her.

"There you are dear, there has been a small revision to your schedule." She said as her cloaked arm shoved a piece of parchment at Silver. She took it in her hands and scanned over the impeccable manuscript. Her next class, History of Magic had been swapped with Defense against the Dark Arts – which was after her lunch break.

Wonderful. Silver thought to herself as her eyes darted around the writing. She had already had a little map of where all her classes for the day were and now she was thrown off completely. She jerked her head up to ask the Professor where she would find her class and spotted her as a mere shadow already multiple steps ahead of her. After contemplating whether she should dart off after the disappearing Professor, she remembered Draco had told her he had Defense against the Dark Arts in the same time frame as she would now have. She had left the library a few minutes before him, in fear of arriving to class late – so she decided to wait for him by the grand doors of the book haven. This was becoming a habit for the two - after potions she would walk Blake to class and press on to the library, where Draco would be waiting for her. After a few anxious seconds he walked out the door and caught sight of her.

"What happened? I thought you were scared of getting to class late?" he allowed himself a teasing grin.

"I was, but I've had a change of schedule" she paused for a moment, "I have Defense against the Dark Arts now," her eyes fell on the paper and she trembled her lips into a pout hoping to gain some sympathy from him, "and I don't know where the class is."

"And I suppose you want me to show you where it is now don't you?" He passed his long fingers through his hair, fighting back a lump of overwhelming joy."Well, I'm only doing this because I have that class now too." He sighed as the lump claimed victory - nearly managing a grin out of him. She beamed in triumph and gathered the pile of textbooks she had scrambled on the floor, But they fell right out of her thin hands and back on the floor as soon as she picked them up. Ruffling her bangs in frustration, she gave it another try - but was stopped by Malfoy's bent body picking them up for her. He laughed at her wild expression and placed the books neatly on her open forearms. "Don't get your skirt up in a bunch, It's not like I was going to carry them to class for you or anything." he laughed walking ahead of her. She grinned at his back and followed.

Draco took her through the outside grounds of the castle, purposely avoiding students. He didn't mind being seen with her if it was up to him – but it wasn't and word would spread like wildfire around the school if students began to notice the unusual amount of time he was spending with her. They walked to their destination exchanging stories (and a few sarcastic words) it seemed as their time in the library wasn't nearly enough to catch up. As soon as they approached the door of the classroom he hesitated for a second, not quite sure if he should walk into a room full of his Slytherin mates with her. And just like a levitation spell saving you from a fatal accident on your broom, Luna Lovegood was rounding the corner of a staircase, skipping in their direction.

"I thought you had another class at this time." Luna asked Silver but had her light blue eyes fixated on the boy behind her.

"They switched my classes just a minute ago." Silver smiled with a brewing excitement now that she knew Luna was with her in the course.

Relief washed through Draco's body at the sight of Looney Lovegood. At least this way, he wouldn't seem as much of a git for what he was about to do next. "I just noticed I left my textbook in the common room, I'll be back in a bit." He said walking away from the screechy door. Silver turned to face him and nodded, disappointment carefully hidden in her cool features. Luna didn't bother ask what was going on between the two, she took comfort simply knowing that the nargles were hard at work with their mischievous wonders.

Defense against dark Arts was barely tolerable. Blake, Ron and Harry rejoined her in that class, along with Terry Boot - a fellow Ravenclaw she had recently befriended. Oh, and not to mention the group of Slytherins that kept shooting dirty looks in her direction.

Pansy shot silent curses at the unsuspecting Ravenclaw. Crabbe and Goyle more than willingly joined her.

"Oy where's Malfoy?" Millicent asked inquisitively.

Blaise shrugged. "He said he had something to do before class."

The course's appointed Professor was a woman by the name of Umbridge, but instead the ever so friendly Snape once again made his entrance through the doors. Silver frowned in dread, and noticed a similar expression in the blond sitting next to her.

"I know your all wondering why I'm here – not that I am obligated to answer any of your inquiries. But Professor Umbridge has been otherwise engaged for today. I will be substituting."

Harry and Ron slammed their hands on their books behind her, clearly bothered; Followed by the wailing screech of the rotting hinges of the classroom door.

Snape's eyes flew to the unauthorized racket. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence Mr. Malfoy." he boomed, sarcasm heavily dripping from his words.

A range of whispers echoed from the darker corner of the room ,which Draco immediately noticed and began to walk towards their direction.

The cloaked man rolled his eyes in annoyance and added, "_Please _take your time finding your seat, I suppose you feel as if you haven't disrupted my classroom enough."

"I'm sorry sir." Draco nodded as he hurriedly made his way through the classroom to the open seat beside Blaise.

"Where were you mate?" Blaise asked staring at the front of the classroom.

"I lost my textbook somewhere in the common room. Don't have to be a baby about it." Draco lips twisted into his trademark smirk.

Pansy couldn't fathom why Draco was treating her so indifferently since their returning to Hogwarts. Last year they were almost inseparable; a tightly knit group - Crabbe, Goyle, Draco and her. She glanced over at the nuisance raven haired girl and sneered when she caught her turning her head to look at Draco.

Pansy shifted her gaze to eye Draco's reaction. He looked in her direction as well - his eyes seeming as bored and cold as usual - but for a moment, she caught sight of something else, something that threw Pansy into an enraged ogre - _Longing._

Silver felt a pair of eyes burning a hole through the back of her head. She casually looked around the classroom stopping at where Draco was - it must've been from him. But it wasn't. The hateful stare was coming from a small snobby girl. Her nose was scrunched up into her face and her lips were pursed unpleasantly. She looked like a shriveled up dog with a mushroom shaped haircut.

Lucy would have ad quite a laugh with that comparison.

Silver averted her eyes to the girl sitting next to her. "Luna who's that girl sitting behind Malfoy?"

Luna adjusted her eyes and tried to focus to the table bearing the inconspicuous girl.

"You mean Pansy Pug-faced Parkinson?" Luna said, no insult intended. She was just repeating what she had heard from Hermione on several occasions.

Silver threw her hands over her mouth to stifle a muzzled laugh, which caused an already bothered Snape to jerk his head in her direction and narrow his eyes at her.

Luna noticed his severity and added. "I guess he's upset the wifflebies haven't been doing their job today."

"And what would that be?" Silver questioned, already beginning to grow accustomed to Luna's way with words.

Snape twisted his eyes in their direction once again. The two girls looked down at their books and pretended to read silently.

"They're supposed to climb up our minds and fuzz up our brains, so our vocal cords don't respond correctly - therefore sending us into complete silence during Snape's lectures."

Silver felt like bursting in laughter. Her better judgment decided against it and slowly dropped her head to the table- simply covering her mouth wasn't going to do it anymore.

"Do not sleep in my class Ms. Crouch." Snape hissed.

Silver shot her head up in panic at the mention of her name. "Sorry Professor."

Ron and harry snickered in their seats a few tables behind Silver and Luna.

Snape was outraged at the behavior of the unruly classroom. "Weasley, Potter, Crouch….and Malfoy." his eyes met each of the mentioned students as he spoke their names. "Detention - all of you."

"Bloody hell -"

"What?"

" Why?"

" - But Professor!"

The four protested in unision.

"Disrupting my classroom" He stated calmly. "You two for laughing, you for talking, and you for tardiness. One more sound from either of you - just breathe too loudly and I will be forced to deduct house points." He threatened.

Silver glanced over at Malfoy. He was staring at her. Their eyes met for a second before she jerked her head forward and stared down at the spiral binding of her notebook.

Detention! And with Malfoy of all people! Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't even do anything - he doesn't deserve detention. He rested his head on the palm of his hand in frustration. This just wasn't his day.

The class dispersed and formed into small groups as soon as class was ceased. Blaise put a hand on Draco's shoulder and snickered a little.

"Detention? Already?" he mused.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I was two or three minutes late, and I get detention. Bloody brilliant Snape."

Pansy waddled to his side taking the opportunity to comfort him.

"It's alright Draco, at least you get to poke some fun at Potty and company." Pansy mentioned, hoping he would find some pleasure in that. But instead he tugged his arm away from her grasp and walked off with Blaise at his tail.

"Can you believe him?" Ron cried in frustration. "He's after us – "

Harry interrupted him and added. "And his sole purpose is to make any non-Slytherin's life miserable."

Silver nodded in agreement at their remarks as Luna and Blake walked beside her.

"Where's Hermione? She asked me to wait for her here for lunch." Harry asked Ron.

Ron shrugged and silently mentioned to the boy in glasses. "She never asks me to wait for her."

Harry looked at his friend sympathetically. Ron had been developing a crush on their third counterpart over the summer, but was beginning to feel hopeless when Hermione never indicated a reciprocation of his feelings. She had been sending posts to Victor Krum all summer, and his jealousy was beginning to blossom into a dreadfully thorny rose.

They were interrupted by Hermione's cheerful greeting. "Hello boys." She smiled at them adding an extra touch of happy when she met Ron's gaze. He failed to notice her special attention as he mirrored her smile. Silver overheard the redhead's comments and paid extra attention to the exchange between him and the bushy-haired girl which Harry was sure to have missed, after all he was just a _boy._ She pressed her lips together and walked over to Harry.

"Harry, Would you mind showing me where the …er – Headmaster's office is please?"

He looked at her confused and nodded as he glanced at the two suitable tour guides standing on her side, curious as to why she asked him. She quickly met his bright green eyes and motioned him to look forward at his best friends. He looked at her eyes curiously, was it now that he had just noticed that her eyes were exactly the same shade of green as _his_? He pushed it aside and quickly caught on. "Yeah, sure – I kind of needed to talk to Dumbledore myself."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. "Alright Harry, We'll meet you in the Great Hall then?" Hermione questioned.

"Yea, see you there in a bit."

Hermione and Ron walked off together.

"I wonder if it's serious." Hermione's usually strong voice faltering.

"What is?" Ron asked not quite understanding what she was asking him.

"Harry – when he said he needed to talk to Dumbledore? He usually tells us –"

Ron cut her off. "Hermione you worry too much. I'm sure it's nothing – he probably just wants to see how he's doing after the summer."

She looked up at him and smiled, feeling a little better. "You're probably right."

Silver laughed after she was sure the two lovebirds were out of sight, Harry quickly joining her. "If Hermione were to ever find out about this – she'd murder me in cold blood!" Harry gasped between lapses of laughter.

Blake and Luna stood behind them dumbfounded. Luna began to laugh as well, just because. While Blake stared incredulously at the madness before her.

X

Draco walked towards the Great Hall, although he was in no mood to eat right now. Blaise caught up with him and gripped his shoulder.

"Where's the fire mate? What's gotten into you lately?" his friend said between breaths.

Draco stood in place to let the dark haired boy take a breather. Why was he running? He really had no idea. And as for the second question - he was completely oblivious to that answer as well.

On a near bench another Slytherin was feeling a similar frustration to that of Malfoy's.

"I don't understand Millie," Pansy whimpered, "I thought he liked me, and he's done nothing but ignore since the summer."

Millicent gently placed her hand on her friends arched back and rubbed it soothingly.

"Boys are Boys Pansy, They're all worthless scum." Millicent said bitterly.

"I know, but I like him, I really do. It sucks – all of this 'love' or 'like' or whatever it is that I feel for him."

Millicent had recently gone through Pansy's exact situation with another boy in their circle. She and Blaise were dating since the beginning of their fourth year and with no warning; just out of mid air – he broke it off with her in the summer. Millicent was wrenched to pieces, especially now back in school; where she saw his face several times a day.

X

Ginny approached the booming laughter echoing through the corridor, to find Harry and Silver as the cause. She smiled at them and cleared her throat loudly. Harry shot his head up to see who it was and immediately stiffened at the sight of her.

"Hi Ginny." He stammered.

Ginny's pale cheeks were tinted with pink at his words. "Hi Harry." She briefly looked at the rest of the girls." Hey girls."

Luna and Silver smiled endearingly back at her before Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"Were you looking for Ron? Because he's already gone off with Hermione for lunch."

She looked down at her shoes and answered nervously. "Oh alright, Well thanks but I was actually looking for you."

Harry was oozing in bliss." Would you like to join us?"

She smiled widely at his invitation. "Yes, of course."

Luna walked over to Ginny's side and laced her arm with her own. Silver smiled sadly at the two future romances flourishing before her eyes. She had no idea why the idea brought a rushing grief inside of her. She had had plenty of coupled friends in Salem, most recent one being Lucy and Rupert – and she had never felt the slightest tinge of jealously. Her thoughts wandered off as she let herself be lead off to the Great Hall by the figures in front of her. Hermione and Ron, she thought - Harry and Ginny, Blake and the Hufflepuff boy (yet to be named), Silver and …. Why was it that the name Draco Malfoy sounded so illogically _right_ next to her own?

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**A/N: oooh! things are starting to heat up, i think. lol :)  
So I made a little something, with each character and how they look. You guys know the basics like Harry and company. But I want you all to see how i picture Blake, Savannah, Dominic, and Lucinda (from the characters I made up) and then we have Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and Cho. It's basically the main Ravenclaw's in the story. It will be posted on my profile page.  
**

**and most importatntly, PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	13. A game of Quidditch

**Thank your for you amazing review DayDreamBabyBee. Made my day, as usual. And thank you to everyone that put my story on alert!**

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Luna hadn't lost her usual morning excitement. Silver continued to be awoken daily by Luna's screechy 'Morning sunshine.' It got a bit old at times but It was comforting to have a friend like Luna, she was like an instant pick me up with her carefree personality.

The other's had already gone off to breakfast as she was still fidgeting with her appearance. She had been spending a few extra minutes getting ready these past couple of mornings. It might have had something to do with her anxiously awaited 'date' in the library with Hogwarts' favorite bully in a bit -The word _favorite_ used in the highest bit of sarcasm possible. She straightened out the wrinkles in her pleated skirt and then buttoned up the collar beneath her sweater vest lined in blue at the edges. She examined her thin figure in the mirror and began playing with her hair for a few minutes, until she decided on wearing it down her back in a long braid and swooped her bangs to the right. They were looking a bit on the frizzy today, probably from the humidity of last night's storm.

She thought back to the impromptu event at dinner last night when the sky of the Great Hall began to turn grey and cloudy, consequently sending a heavy downpour on all of the students. Piling after each other in a rather unruly fashion people began to rush out of the Hall. She had stayed inside though, witnessing the indoor rain in amusement. Luna seemed bemused as well sitting on top of a table, her legs crossed in front of her, staring off into the roof in her usual daze. The vast hall was nearly empty when a sharp cold voice came up behind her.

"I think you might've been hit on the head one too many Crouch. It's raining, you see that don't you?" Draco allowed himself a glance at Luna and creased his brows.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll leave when you stop being an insolent little prat." She threatened, followed by a clean grin.

He smirked as his eyes travelled from her long waist length hair drenched in water and down her tight robes, which were now clinging on to her figure. But stopped himself long before he was finished. "Well I suppose you'll be in here for some time then." His lips curled into a grin as he stalked closer to her.

She noticed the ticking of her oversized watch, as if it was reminding her of how late she was. Dashing out the door she picked up her shoes and ran down the stairs. She slid on her flats in front of the large doors, but before she had reached the Great Hall she took a wrong turn, one of the staircases had been moving around again, and she got lost - twice. If that wasn't enough for the first fifteen minutes of her day, she had also managed to fall over a first year. Luckily it was just Lucinda – so although it was embarrassing, it wasn't complete humiliation.

Pansy and Millicent were rambling in hushed voices beside Draco as he tried to swallow down his toast. Blaise and him were talking about the upcoming Quidditch match.

"Well at least we know the seasons sure to start off interesting." Blaise said amidst his chewing.

"Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff" Draco nodded. "I have my bets on….none." they laughed obnoxiously. "Rather boring match up if you ask me."

"Especially when we know who the real winners at the end of the year are going to be, don't we?." Blaise scoffed as he looked around his table. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered a bit while they shoved giant sized portions into their mouths.

At the Gryffindor table, a similar conversation was undergo.

"You've been practicing haven't you Harry?" Ron chirped in excitement. "I can't wait for the first match. The summer's been unbearable without Quidditch. Did you see who we're up against?"

Harry nodded with a slight confidence. "But we can't underestimate them. I think we should practice right after we've posted up the results of the tryouts."

Hermione and Ginny were consumed in their own conversations regarding Ginny's ex boyfriend and his undying persistence to get back together, while all the boys around them began to get worked up about Quidditch. Silver strode in through the doors and scampered to Blake's side as she heard Fred and George cat calling and yelling "She's late?" Fred hollered while George joined in, "Rubbish! That's never happened before!" Silver laughed as she took her seat and mouthed '_I know where you live'_, in an attempt to sound hostile. She had met the Weasley twins one day at lunch with Ron and his friends, Ginny, and Luna.

_They sat rummaging through plates of food and were in heavy conversation when a group of Gryffindors rounded the table to greet the trio. Amongst the group were Fred and George._

"_Ickle Ronnie, how are you enjoying my food?" Fred said astonished and plopped down next to him poking at his food. "Come off it Fred." Ron said shoving his hand out of the way. _

_George quickly followed and added. "Granger and how might you be today? No books I see?" _

"_Ha. Ha. HA. And for your unnecessary information, they're in my bag thank you very much." She said pointing at her hidden schoolbag. Fred and George eyed each other and then noticed the stragglers. "Luna, our looney friend, how are you? Been a while. And who is this?" George winked at the new girl and slivered over to her from across the table._

"_This is Silver Crouch, she's a new fifth year." Luna mentioned before she went back to eating. _

"_I see, I see." Fred said mischievously. George only nodded. "Well new girl Silver Crouch, if you ever need anything - anything at all. You know who to call._"

Of course they were only joking, for the most part. But she hit it off with them immediately.

Draco turned at the sound of the Weasel's mating calls and saw them directed at Silver. He mumbled colorful words under his breath. Out of all the students in this forsaken school – she had to end up with the ones he loathed most. A large black owl tossed a letter onto his lap and he quickly pulled it up to read. It was from his father. The good news just kept on coming didn't it.

_Draco,_

_I've been informed of your lack of progress as Prefect, notably because of your unauthorized interaction with other houses. You are representing the Slytherin house, stay clear on your tasks and focused on your studies – no excuses. Purebloods are the only ones who will aid you on your way to the top. A Ravenclaw will dig you in a hole. Think of this as more of a warning than a suggestion._

_My highest regards,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Draco tore the parchment to small pieces and threw it on his empty plate. There was no question as to who was the snitch that told on him.

"Parkinson." Draco scowled at the girl beside him.

She jerked her head up from Millicent's story and raised her eyebrows.

"Merlin! You can't be serious?" he pointed at the remains of parchment in front of him. "Running off to tell my father about what I'm doing or not doing at school. Pathetic."

"I don't know what you're going on about Malfoy." She spat unconvincingly.

"Your completely mental, you do realize that Parkinson." He said as he swiftly rose from the bench to leave. Pansy rushed over to follow him out the doors.

Silver was quick to notice Pansy's whiny voice from across the hall. She was probing another Slytherin girl about something until Draco had lost his patience with her and walked off. There was no chance she was going to miss this. "I need to use the bathroom." She mumbled to Savannah as she pulled her legs across the bench.

"I haven't the slightest idea why you're accusing me of such a thing." Pansy shrieked.

"Because it _was_ you. You've been unbearable this year – for God's sake just because I haven't spent any time with you doesn't mean you need to go off to tell my father." He sneered, trying very hard to keep his cool.

"What do you expect for me to do?!" she yelled as she heard footsteps approaching. "You've been off with that bloody Ravenclaw every moment you have to spare. How am I supposed to feel? We're supposed to be engaged!"

Silver lost her balance against the wall, her heart plummeting in her chest like a sinking ship. _Engaged?_ The word sounded like a deadly poison to her. Draco and Pansy turned at the sound of Silver's sharp intake of air, and his unreadable face transformed into that of despair. Pansy seemed rather pleased with herself and just smiled deviously with her short arms crossed across her chest.

"Silver." Draco whispered softly.

But she ran off. Draco darted after her but stopped midway remembering his father's letter. He felt like he had just been struck with another one of his father's reprimanding stupefy spells. He was hurting and confused - as if he had been wrenched in two and the sensation would never go away. So he dealt with the pain the only way he knew how. Making everyone else feel as small as he presently felt. He turned at the victorious (but for not a moment longer) girl in front of him.

His expression was icy and hard, scary. His frigid grey eyes glared at her and his voice became solid steel. "We're not _engaged._ What could possibly possess you to say such a thing?! You're filth. The mudblood has more value than you do. I'd strongly suggest you stay clear of me. And take that as more of a threat than a suggestion." He could no longer control his temper and stormed out of the room before he did something he would later regret. Seems that his father had more of an effect on him than he thought.

His words stung her like knives. So she lied. They weren't engaged, they weren't even a couple. But it was all she could think of; the opportunity was simply too sweet to pass up with Crouch eavesdropping. But she wasn't all that sure whether it was worth it at the end. Draco _hated _her now, more than ever. But somehow she was okay with it, with the simple satisfaction of knowing Crouch would be too angry to ever speak to him again.

Safe to say – Silver and Draco didn't meet at the library for that entire week.

The smell of the Quidditch pitch lured crowds of students and faculty into the stadium. People roared with excitement and began to chant the names of the two opposing teams. "GO, GO Gryffindor!" came from the side decorated with red and gold. "Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff!" yelled the ones in yellow and black. It was a beautiful autumn Saturday afternoon. The green trees had turned into a golden shade of brown and began to fall lazily on the ground. Students were dressed out of uniform but wore their black robes and scarves for the chilly weather, and to show their house pride.

Professor Dumbledore sat with the rest of his staff in a special covered area, as he proudly announced the commencement of the match. Broomsticks came rushing in from every direction sending the crowd into an uproar. Silver sat along with the rest of the Ravenclaws, which were there to scope out the competition just as the Slytherins were. The match had begun and Blake was sent into a fit of joy when Alec Hirsch, her favorite Hufflepuff, managed to make the first point. "Isn't he perfect." She gushed as she waved girlishly at him. Silver rolled her eyes and continued to focus on her first Quidditch match. She had never paid much attention to the sport in Salem.

The game was rough. And violent. Silver fidgeted in her seat as player after player was shoved onto the pitch walls or pushed by the opposing team – nearly sending them flying off their broomsticks. The intensity of the game drew her in.

An hour into the game a frantic scream sent the Gryffindors into panic "Ron!" Fred yelled as a buldger escaped from his wooden club. The iron bludger was gaining hazardous speed as it crashed into Ron's shoulder sending him plummeting to the ground. Hermione threw her hands up to her face and held in her breath, hoping someone would catch him. But he fell, straight onto the cold ground and he lie there -unmoving, stiff for what seemed to be ages as the game had no other choice but to continue above him. Silver and Luna leaned over the edge to catch a glimpse of their friend and saw Hermione along with one of the professors on the floor hovering over him.

Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein shrugged it off. "He'll be up in no time." Terry said confidently.  
"I've seen worse." Anthony added. Luna's face was stricken with worry. "We'll go check up on him in the infirmary in a bit." Silver said, reassuring herself more than anything else. Blake placed an arm on Silver's shoulder in comfort. Crabbe nudged Draco in the rib. "Did'ya see that? And you said this game wasn't going to be interesting." The tall thin boy half heartedly grinned at him when he spotted the girl that had all of a sudden seemed to occupy his every thought. She was shaken up, just as well as the other two girls beside her. But Weasley had fallen off his broomstick in front of the entire student body. That was funny right? Isn't that what he and his friends were always rooting for – public humiliation for Potter and Weasley? Right now though, the thought of what her reaction would be if he would ever fell off his broom during a match seemed to conquer his mind.

The game went to Gryffindor, although their victory was bittersweet. The team went rushing over to the hospital wing along with a few other concerned students including Luna, Blake and Silver. Ron was lying in bed, Hermione by his side.

"How are you feeling mate?" Harry walked to his bedside. Fred did the same. "I'm sorry Ron, I didn't even see it -"

Hermione shushed them. "Quiet down, all of you! Cant you see he's sleeping?" she whispered, unconsciously stroking his arm. The twins exchanged knowing looks and Harry smiled.

"What's gotten into you three?" she asked oblivious to what they were acting so oddly about and then noticed her hand on Ron's and jerked it away. "Harry can you watch him please? I need to stretch a bit." she left without waiting for his response and motioned for Silver to follow her out of the room.

She hadn't been performing at exactly 110% in her classes as usual, at least not in Astronomy. Hermione and Silver would now spend most of the period talking, thus earning a total of five points deducted from each of their houses thus far. They were opposites in many ways; Hermione could sometimes be a bit bossy and dull. Silver was outgoing and mostly preferred to go with the flow. And although they found themselves in a bit of a quarrel at times, they eased it over and took the argument as a learning experience on handling their clashing personalities.

"I think he just asked me out." The bushy haired girl gushed in disbelief outside the doors. Silver smiled excitedly as she continued. "When Madam Hooch was bringing him over to the infirmary he told me he was glad that _I_ was the one that had come up with him and that he wanted to take me to Hogsmeade tomorrow…and then he fell asleep."

Silver hopped enthusiastically and pulled her friend into a quick hug. "I think it's time to tell Ginny."

"Do you think so? I'm scared she might think I've gone mad. And besides I heard Lavender Brown has got her beady eyes on him too" Hermione laughed a little at the irony of her peculiar feelings. "Who would've thought Ronald Weasley would turn out to be so….popular?"

After dinner that night everyone dispersed to their common rooms, as they're obligated to do. Hermione told Ginny the news in their dormitory sending Ginny into disbelief quickly followed by joy.

"Oh my gosh! You?….My brother? And if you two get married," her eyes were glistening, "that makes you my sister in law!" She was getting a little ahead of herself. Hermione panicked and began waving her hands in the air. "Calm down Ginny!"

Ginny was like Hermione's reality check. There were times that she became so engrossed in school, that she practically became blind to the world around her. Ginny was always there to bring her back down to earth and vice versa. Ginny was sometimes so optimistic and distracted, not focusing as much as she should on her studies, that Hermione served as her stronghold.

Savannah and Silver sat on the big comfy couches of their common room. Lucinda and Luna were concentrated on a lengthy game of wizard's chess, they'd been playing for nearly an hour already – and Blake was sitting by an armchair reading _Defensive Magical Theory_. Anthony and Terry walked in and sat down on couch besides the two girls.

"So what do you girls say to an outing at Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Anthony asked.

"I've got a paper for Potions I need to finish." Silver pouted. Blake nodded before she went back to her book.

"Aw c'mon now, don't be so boring." Savannah insisted. "Just go for a bit and we'll be back before you know it." She looked up at Terry who had his arm wrapped around Savannahs pale shoulders.

Silver shook her head. "No, I really need to finish. Hermione Granger even promised to help Blake and me with it. Thanks though."

Anthony's face dropped in disappointment. He _really_ wanted to go with her. This was all his idea actually, Terry was just following along. He was beginning to fancy the raven haired girl.

"I want to go!" the small girl playing chess squealed, making her giant blue bow jump.

"Sorry Lucinda but your too young to go. It's third years and up." Terry mocked, squishing his fingers together emphasizing how small she was.

In the greenest common room of the castle sat Pansy trying to keep warm by the fire. Draco walked through to get to his room and ignored her as he walked by. Millicent was sitting on a desk nearby.

"Malfoy, have you started Snape's assignment?" she asked. He glanced at her for a mere second and shook his head before he disappeared off to his dormitory.

Pansy huffed. "Do you see what I mean?" she spoke into the fire, her face hard.

Milllicent shrugged. "He'll get over it Pans, I mean its Malfoy – it's not like there's a difference whether he likes you or not, you can hardly tell."

His dormitory was empty. Good. The last thing he certainly wanted was for Zabini to hound him with questions. Parkinson's sure to have told the whole school by now. His mind wandered off to last week's exchange between him and Silver. He preferred to believe that he had convinced himself it was for the best. Maybe Pansy was the girl for him. It was all meant to happen, so that he could continue the solid fate that was already paved for him. He wouldn't go after her. No matter how much sleep he lost at night - or how bad the unwavering pain swelling inside his chest was since that day.

Potions was certainly awkward. The class droned on for eternity. Her chair was inched away as far as possible from the tall blond boy beside her. He of course noticed this, and felt the ache pounding. They hadn't spoken to each other in nearly a month. So when the time came to combine their efforts for an in class assignment, it was less than pleasant. They began stirring in the ingredients in silence as they reached over to grab what they needed without speaking. Her hand brushed past his when she made her way to grab a snip of salamander skin. She nervously pulled her hand away dropping the skin on the table directly in front of him.

"Sorry." She murmured as she went to reach it at the same time his own pale hands made their way to it. And once again they made contact. Her face went hot as she her hand lingered there for a bit longer than before. Their eyes met, and his cold grey eyes bore helplessly into her causing her to yank her head away and look down. He parted his lips to speak but closed them just as fast - realizing he hadn't the slightest idea of what to say. Ron, his arm in a sling healing from his run in with the buldger, mistook the scene as Malfoy up to his old ways again.

"Piss off Malfoy, leave 'er alone." Ron threatened followed by Harry's cold glare. They braced themselves for what was sure to cause them another detention when Malfoy turned to face them. He glared at them profusely, his jaw clenched in anger before he went back to his cauldron. Hermione was completely flabbergasted and whispered anxiously to the boys. "Is it just me or has Draco been acting strangely? Not once as he shot us with an insult since the beginning of the term."

Harry shrugged. "He's gotten stupid over the summer apparently. Can't even come up with a deem able comeback." He mentioned rather loudly, instigating the boy in front of him.

And although Draco noticeably stiffened his shoulders, they got nothing from him – just a glare from the seemingly upset girl beside him. She knew about Draco's questionable past, but not once this year had she heard of him pestering anyone. True, she was furious with him but she still didn't like seeing him being provoked this way.

"I never thought it would be possible, but it seems he might've grown up over the summer." Hermione whispered in disbelief.

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**A/N: More to come! Review, Review, Review! :)**

**Next chapter: Detention with Snape!**

**tun, tun,tunnn  
**


	14. Detention

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Detention

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Half past five. Silver had been dreading the meeting of the large clock hands and the roman numeral with each passing hour. The common room wasn't fuller than a few seventh year boys rambling by the fire, Silver, and Blake - which was keeping her company until she had to go off to detention with Snape. She shuddered at the thought. The man was ridden in hate. Maybe she should suggest the idea of a nice long shower, it looks like his hair hadn't come in contact with any soapy substance in decades – but she decided it was probably best to keep that between Blake and her.

"It'd certainly be helpful if you came out alive." Blake beckoned amusingly watching Silver's face fall in fear. "Don't say that! I might just not come back!" she choked out in worry.

"Yeah allebit, Malfoy and Snape - _together _- there's not much Harry and Ron could do with them two around." Blake said.

They walked down the long staircase out of their tower and into the main castle. Dominic passed them on the way and waved, but then looked at them horrified and began to bite his nails foolishly.

"Detention now eh?" he said as he approached them.

"Like you didn't already know that." She cocked her head to the side and glared at him.

He laughed loudly, obviously because he wasn't the one on his way to Snape. "Right then. Should I save you a seat? Well, that is – _if _you make it to dinner."

She punched him playfully on the arm while Blake punched him harder and looked at him sternly before they parted ways. It was creepy enough in broad daylight, walking down the Potions corridor, and now with the sun beginning to dim outside, it was just downright scary. The narrow stone walls surrounding her emphasized the growing the dead silence of the dungeons. She could barely hear her own footsteps until a shrill yell sliced through the quiet a few feet in front of her.

Goosebumps formed all along her skin and her heart stopped for a brief moment before she began to run to the voice, not sure as to why she was heading towards it instead of away from it. It seemed to have been coming from the area of her Potions classroom and she cautiously poked her head from behind a cobwebbed column and saw Ron Weasley shaking his head.

"Ron?" she approached him causing him to look up at her. His face was white, even more so than Malfoys, and his lips began to tremble. "S-s-s-p-ider." He stammered. "HUGE!" he outstretched his shaking arms on both sides. She felt like laughing, clearly aware of Ron's irrational fear of any sized spider, but instead plopped down on the floor beside him.

"C'mon Ron, Lets take you away from the awful spiders."

"No Silver, I'm dead serious. The spider – it wasn't _n-normal." _He stammered and she gently grabbed his undamaged arm and, with struggle, dragged him up and towards the classroom.

"It couldn't have been that big Ron." She reassured him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Ouch." He winced. She had accidently patted his injured shoulder.

"Sorry."

In between Ron's clattering, faint mumbles were becoming louder.

"Five points from Gryffindor!" She heard voices on the other side of the door, and increased her pace to listen, pulling Ron's arm a bit too roughly. "Serves you right Potty, it's not my fault that you nearly blew the classroom to bits." She hadn't noticed how far in she had been leaning towards the ajar door and it swung open, revealing the disgruntled redhead.

"Ah, yes, look Potter your pet has just arrived. And what's gotten into you Weasley? Did you look in the mirror?." Draco Malfoy spat, already fed up with their belligerent attacks on him. Silver walked in right after him and he stopped cold, the pleasure of his revenge counteracting. She glared at him disapprovingly and walked over to an empty seat on the far corner of the room after she made sure Ron was stable enough to stand on his own.

"You do look rather – ill Mr. Weasley." Snape said studying the boy, wrinkling his forehead in displeasure. "Feel free to throw up in the Infirmary and not my classroom." He sat down and tapped at his table, the seat behind him covered in his dark cloak. "Sit, your much deserved punishments are to clean the leftover garbage from today's potions assignments. Filthy students don't clean up after themselves, luckily your all here to pick up where they left off."

Silver looked at the battered floor beneath her, full of animal body parts and other unrecognizable objects. She grimaced and began to work straight away. The faster she finished, the sooner she would be able to leave. The room was consumed in silence except for the occasional puking sound Ron would couldn't help but make, an annoyed Snape eyeing him every so often. Probably to make sure his insides were still, well, _inside._

Draco's eyes lingered over the figure in the farthest corner of the classroom. How had everything taken such a turn for the worse, first Parkinson's compulsive urge to flat out lie and now she had heard him tearing up her little friend.

He really was in no mood to throw one back at Potter, but he had just gone too far. And although he was growing tired of Potter and his weasel, he still had his dignity to conserve. And Potter had taken his last poke at it. That's when he exploded.

These days the only one he could talk to was his mother, but he was never sure if her father got to her letters before she did. Even Snape had been icy towards him, brushing him off when he went to his office for advice. Although he did manage to find time to ask him about Silver once, and how the two were getting on. Draco told him they were mates again, just like in the old days. Of course this was before the run in with between him and Parkinson. He cringed at the thought of her name.

She was tucked away in her little corner, kneeled on the floor wishing she had gloves for this mess. She was going one by one, very slowly, picking up a variety of things ranging from crocodile hearts to herbs and leaves. Her hand fell on a piece of Sneezewort, she clapped her hand around her mouth to stifle her laughter when she remembered of the time Draco and her had fooled Crabbe into eating one of these. He wanted something to make him intelligent, going on about how he wanted to impress his father for once in his life. And instead the herb made him stupid - not that he wasn't stupid already.

Draco heard her muffled laughter and curiously peeked at the plant she held in her hand. He too pinpointed the memory and laughed a little.

"He was babbling like a fool for days. Not that much has changed." Draco thought aloud, his ears filled with the noise of his own voice and his mouth went dry realizing what he had just said. Silver shot her head up, her bright green eyes scanned his face before she answered.

"Honestly I wasn't even sure it would do anything to him. I didn't think it was possible for him to get any dumber – guess I was wrong though." A smile played gingerly on her lips before she set it straight and flicked her eyes down to the floor.

Harry eyebrows came together and he glared at Malfoy with the same bright green eyes from under his glasses. First they seem to get along in potions and now they're talking about a memory that they shared, _together. _Had the wizarding world gone mad? Malfoy being civil towards people? Harry looked at the redhead and saw his face twisted as well. Ron was indeed confused for the above mentioned reasons, but what threw him off the most was when Malfoy frowned, sadly, at the end of their two second conversation. As if he wanted more!

The hour had droned on for long enough when Silver quickly packed up her messenger bag and approached Snape's desk to let him know she was done. He rolled his eyes blandly and waved her away. She walked in between the aisle where Harry and Draco were still cleaning, sure to keep her emerald eyes set on the door ahead, purposely avoiding each of their inquiring stares. Draco watched her leave the classroom, until the door was firmly shut behind her.

Pansy Parkinson was on duty patrolling the halls with Hermione Granger, seeing as both of their partners were off at detention. She was put in charge of the dungeons, since the 'brave' Gryffindor seemed too frightened to go down there by herself.

"I really do think I should take the third floor and up." Hermione demanded, her chin up in the air.

"Scared Granger?" Parkinson mocked.

"Certainly not Parkinson, I just think it's a better arrangement – seeing as its closer to our common rooms and all."

Pansy laughed humorlessly. "Right, Sure. Do what you want then. Malfoy's down there anyways. I suppose I can manage."

A door shut nearby and she was thrilled at the prospect of a new student to terrorize. A figure approached out of the veiled darkness. "You there! What are you doing out in the halls at his hour?" She yelled, parading over to the source of her delight. She grabbed her shoulder harshly and spun her around. Her dark eyes looked into the face of the girl in hatred.

"What happened Crouch? First you get kicked out of Salem and now out of your own common room, did you? Well allow me to send you back over." Pansy threatened retrieving her wand from the inside of her robes. Silver had managed to get a hold of hers before Pansy had the chance and lanced it in her direction.

"I'm not getting expelled because of you Parkinson. Drop the wand and leave me alone." Silver hissed, her tone easily rivaling that of a Slytherins. Parkinson narrowed her eyes but kept her ground, although she was at least a head shorter than the Ravenclaw before her.

Pansy and Silver have known each other for quite some time. Certainly not as friends, but more as enemies. Pansy and Draco's two brainless buffoons would constantly tease her as a child. But Silver certainly knew how to defend herself.

"Looks like you weren't even good enough to become Slytherin like the lot of us." She menaced. "Works out for the best if you ask me; you would've brought eternal shame to the house."

"Did you fall off your broomstick Parkinson? What would ever make you think that I had the slightest intention of being sorted into _that._ No, No. That honor should solely be bestowed to small intolerable gits like you. "She shifted her weight to her right leg and went on."I thought you looked familiar when I noticed you staring at me in Potions. Am I that fascinating to you?"

Pansy was enraged with anger, her fists clenched at her sides and her round face began to scrunch like a wrinkled pug. "Blimey is that the best you've got now? I'm nearly certain that Barty sent _himself_ to Azkaban just to get away from you. It would be completely dreadful living in the same house as you."

Professor Dumbledore emerged out of nowhere and stood rooted behind Pansy at that same moment. "Now I'm sure you didn't mean that Ms. Parkinson – your usual sarcastic humor I suspect, but it does come off as a bit rude at times. You wouldn't mind apologizing now would you? We wouldn't want Ms. Crouch to think you were serious now would we?"

Pansy looked at her headmaster in defeat and mumbled something that sounded like an apology and waddled away. Professor Dumbledore nodded as she exited and then faced his twinkling eyes at the girl left standing in the dimly lit hall.

"I believe you have a turbulent year ahead of you Ms. Crouch," he began, "There will be many difficult times for you, such as this, but there are also _great_ things in store as well. But if it isn't out of place for me to say, there is a certain relief knowing another poor child can no longer be blinded by the beliefs of a Deatheater." He smiled at her and patted her shoulder. "Now, it's getting awfully late – you wouldn't mind wandering off to your common room now would you? The halls can be a bit two-faced at night."

Silver took a close look at the cloaked man. His silver beard nearly reached his toes and his small eyes were hidden under his half moon spectacles, but inside of them was a sort of wisdom and hope that she had never before witnessed in a person. Her expression relaxed and she smiled before she bid him goodnight and dashed out of the dungeon. The halls did seem a little deceiving now that he had pointed it out. Her speed walking became speedier and she was now springing up flights of stairs, relief shooting through her body when she reached the talking doorknob.

This riddle seemed a lot more perplexing than the others, it might've been due to the fact that she couldn't bring her distracted mind to focus, and took her nearly a full six minutes before it swiveled open.

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**A/N: Yay! New Reviewers!! and of course my loyal ones :) Thank you soo much for your amazing reviews - it was all thanks to the great feedback that i was motivated to update so quickly. Keep them coming!!**

**So that was detention, I hope it didn't disappoint!  
What do you guys think?  
Should Silver and Draco make up soon or should they suffer a little more? It's in your hands.  
And are you all catching up with the characters I made up? or are there too many in a chapter? Let me know.**

**Thanks for reading :)  
**


	15. Who to ask?

_Quick note before we begin.  
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_Confused:  
Her adoptive father in the story is Barty Crouch Jr. (he's a little older for the sake of the story because I know hes supposed to be in his teens). And I know that Sr. is his dad and Silver could be sent over to him but him and his father didn't get along, so I placed her to live with a close family friend ( The Malfoys - which Voldermort designated). I know I had to switch a few things around to make what I wanted to happen, happen. I hope it didn't cause too much confusion. If you have any other questions feel free to message me._

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**Who to ask?**

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Leaves were spinning amongst each other as the light breeze gently whisked them away into the air. There wasn't a cloud in sight and the school caretaker, Argus Filch, was preparing the castle for Halloween. This term the Head Boy and Head girl had suggested a new way to celebrate the school's festive traditions. Each year should have a different activity for the night of the thirty-first. First and Second years would have a walk in the forest with Hagrid, right by his small wooden house. Thrid and Fourth years were to gather in the Great Hall and have a Halloween banquet. Fifth years would be set up outside the grounds of Hogwarts, near the forbidden forest, and have a bonfire. Sixth and seventh years were allowed an outing at Hogsmeade for the night, before curfew of course.

Students were already excited for what awaited that Saturday. The day before everyone was fidgeting with excitement, bantering on about what it would be like . People were filling in the Great Hall for lunchtime.

"I'm actually rather nervous about the whole thing." Lucinda whimpered. "A walk in the forest? And with Hagrid of all people? I mean the man himself is scary."

Luna giggled lightly. "Hagrid is actually very nice. I've never spoken more than two words to him but one time, while I was in my first year, he found me wandering off the grounds. Don't remember how I had gotten there I told him and he lead back to school, safe and sound."

Strangely, that wasn't the first time Luna had gotten "lost". On many of Silver's run ins with Pansy Parkinson in the halls after that night at detention, Luna would magically appear. Claiming she had no idea how she had ended up there. Silver had loads to thank Luna for her forgetfulness. For it was thanks to her that she would casually slip away from the snappy girl.

The thing was, everyone was frantically looking for a date for Halloween's festiviites. Those who were already coupled off found this seemingly easy, since they already had a date. But the single students were having a difficult time. Dominic for one was completely frantic.

"I dunno who to ask." He said playing with the food in his plate.

"Well no one's asked me either, so don't be too hard on yourself." Silver said just as glum.

"You think Padma would go with me?"

"I think she might, ask her." She smiled reassuringly.

"You have to help me though."

Silver beamed. "It'd be my pleasure, I love playing matchmaker!"

Dominic seemed relieved and exhaled a large amount of air he had been holding in. He smiled at her sweetly as he took another bite and asked. "Now, what about you love? Anyone in mind?" Silver's excitement fell in a second.

"I – I don't know, I mean there's no one that I want to go with." She lied as her searching green eyes landed on a far away figure in the hall. Dominic's eyes followed her line of vision and nodded knowingly.

"Malfoy?"

Her head perked up in shock. "What? Why would you-?"

"Well you did tell me there was another side to the git, long time ago. I just thought you might've been able to bring it out in him again. I have noticed him to be a tad bit easier to have in the room than before."

She raised her eyebrows and looked down at her plate, he read her so easily. She trusted the shaggy haired boy. Well what other choice did she have anyways? He's the only one that knew about Barty and the Malfoy's. He had figured it out, she wasn't sure how, but he did - I guess you could say Dominic Dates was the Ravenclaw version of Hermione Granger.

When parents were brought up in conversation, Silver would lie and say her parents had died when she was seven in a wizard duel gone bad, sent off to live with her aunt in America. At least no one was clever enough to make the connection between the Barty Crouch that had been sent to Azkaban and her. Well all except for Dominic. He had privately asked her when she was up on her way to her dormitory, and the comfort of finally being able to confide in someone was all too alluring to pass up.

"What's this I hear? Is that oaf still bothering you Silver?" Savannah's voice shot across the table as her pale eyebrows scrunched together.

"He's not _bothering_ me Savannah." She couldn't help but smile at her friend's worried expression.

Savnnah didn't look convinced. "Well just say the word. I'll have him crying back to Daddy Malfoy I will."

Malfoy was an interesting topic of conversation in the common room lately whenever Silver was around her friends. Seems like Cho couldn't keep her mouth shut and had told Savannah everything that happened in Potions.

Dominic shrugged her off as he turned to face Silver again. "But I heard Anthony wants to ask you." He said, a piece of pie halfway into his mouth, "I think you should say yes. Make the wanker jealous." He winked, finally swallowing his pie.

Silver grinned. "But Anthony's my friend, I can't just puppeteer him that way."

Dominic shrugged his shoulders and looked at her skeptically. "And you think that Anthony's going to get hurt by that? You wouldn't be his first little girlfriend, trust me – he's had his more than his share."

A shriek erupted from Silver's left. "Anthony! He wants to ask you? Your so lucky!" Lucinda was obviously eavesdropping and couldn't hold it in.

Silver widened her eyes and put a finger to her mouth, hinting for her to shut up – in a nice way, of course.

Just then, Hermes dropped a small package on her lap and sat at the tip of the table, almost as if he were waiting for her to open it. She reached over to grab a piece of bacon and feed it to him before she rubbed his back softly. The package was from Lucy, that much she was sure of – because she had sent her a gift for the holiday as well. She unwrapped the brown packaging, untied a purple bow, and out plopped a box of truffles and a homemade picture frame holding a picture of her, Lucy, and Rupert.

The figures in the photograph were moving, it was the time of the Halloween ball her fourth year at Salem. Lucy and Silver had taken just Rupert to share between the both of them and he was centered in the middle with the two girls clinging on to his arm. They were all laughing and Rupert held out his hand for the both of them to take as he led them out to the dance floor.

Silver was unaware of the cheeky smile spreading on her lips, Dominic leaned on her shoulder to get a view of the frame.

"Those are my friends back home." She murmured, a strange sadness forming a lump in her throat.

"You should invite them up here during the holidays, around Christmastime maybe?" He suggested

"Can you do that?" she asked, excitement rising.

He thought for a moment. "I'm sure you can meet them at Hogsmeade."

"You're brilliant Dominic!" she squealed before knocking him into a bone crushing hug.

Millicent and Blaise were getting cozy, making most of the Slytherins around them slightly uncomfortable, Draco being the first.

"I'm trying to digest my food, get a room." He sneered, "As a matter of fact, the common room must be empty right now."

Millicent beamed and clasped the boy's hand in hers. Blaise smiled devilishly and thanked his friend for the heads up. She led him out of the common room in a sneaky manner, avoiding getting caught by the Professor's on the high table. Draco's annoyed face seemed to soften when Crabbe pat him on the shoulder praising his good deed. He was sitting between his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, mostly because he felt safer whenever Pansy was around. Just then her bobbed head poked out from Crabbe's side.

"So who are you boys all taking to the bonfire?" she asked, the question directed at them three, but her eyes locked on the blond in the middle.

"Dunno yet. Gotta see who's good enough." Goyle huffed winking at a nearby girl in his table. She gagged.

Crabbe gave a similar answer, but decided against sending a random look at a girl – learning from Goyle's mistakes. Pansy seemed bored until as the two lumps answered, suddenly interested when they wrapped it up. "And what about you Malfoy?"

He looked down at his food and continued to eat. "I might have someone in mind." He said between mouthfuls. Crabbe looked at him his fat lip hanging down.

"Wha-? You never told us anything."

Draco elbowed him in the ribs and Crabbe groaned in pain. "Why'd you go and do that for?"

Draco rolled his eyes annoyed at the stupidity of the oaf beside him. "_Because_ Crabbe, it's going to be a surprise, remember?"

He mentally slapped himself. A surprise? Is that really the best he could come up with? Crabbe looked dreadfully confused. He scratched his head, a drop of drool escaping his mouth.

Harry was in the same predicament as the rest, he had no idea who to take. After last year's horrific night at the Yule ball, he knew Pavarti would never say yes to another invitation from him. Cho seemed to have moved on. He heard from Seamus Finnnigan that she was seen snogging a sixth year from her house outside of the Ravenclaw tower. And Ginny, well he wanted nothing more than to ask her. But the way his voice malfunctioned whenever she was around was a bit of a problem.

Lavender Brown had asked Ron, and he had told her he would think on it. When Ginny had told Hermione about it, she galloped to find Ron and asked him, rather rudely, to go with her. He was completely shocked, his eyes wider than a crystal ball when he said yes. Out of fear in the beginning, but once the temporary numbness in his brain fizzled he realized he was actually excited to go with her.

"Just ask him already." Luna insisted.

"If he wanted to go with me, he would've already asked." Ginny crossed her arms in front of her, settled on her theory.

Silver rolled her eyes. "Of course not! He's shy, that's all."

Hermione nodded in agreement. The four were supposed to be studying in the library that afternoon after classes, but couldn't find an inkling of interest in concentrating. Instead, they were playing a game of _Find Ginny a date_.

"I asked Neville, and he said yes." Luna boasted providing her friend with an example.

"Yes but Neville is just_ Neville._ We're talking about _Harry Potter_ here." Ginny said.

"You say that like if he's a monster." Hermione said, "He's just Harry, as normal as the lot of us."

"Easy for you to say, you're his best friend. You and Ron know him better than anyone. I, on the other hand, don't have that advantage." Ginny sulked.

"Well if it's any consolation, I don't have a date either." Silver suffered from a severe case of déjà vu, she had spent most of her day repeating the same words to most who had enough interest to ask.

"Hasn't Anthony asked you yet?" Luna asked.

Silver shook her head. "He's told everyone but me apparently."

Luna began to ramble off about her recent discovery of the secret life of the nargles when Silver decided she wasn't feeling cheery enough to sit through it and left the study group to head back to the common room. The rest stayed behind, set on getting at least an hour of studying in before dinner. She knew the way to the library well, from the times when she would meet _him_. She shook her head trying to shake off the thought_. _The halls were nearly empty, except for the occasional student walking past.

"I've been looking all over for you." A tired voice stopped her from behind, "I want to ask you something."

Silver turned around to come face to face with Anthony Goldstein. Her heart dropped, not in the way it did when she saw Draco – in a different, less exciting way. She smiled. "Sorry, I've been in the library."

Anthony examined her face closely before answering, "Has someone already asked you to the bonfire?" he said, strangely confident.

She shook her head softly which triggered the impending question. "Would you want to come with me?" he asked.

Hesitation crossed her sunlit features. A large window beside them shining brighter than before, like a spotlight. "Sure." She forced herself a smile, stretching the one plastered on his face even wider.

"I'll meet you in the common room tomorrow night then." He said, brushing his hand on her arm as he walked off.

That wasn't as bad as she expected - Anthony was nice; it'd be fun to go with him. Right? But she couldn't shake off the tugging feeling in the pit of her stomach. Just then she crashed into a hard chest, inhaling his musky scent. Whoever this was, he smelled so – alluring. She lingered on the strangers chest, longer than she deemed normal before realized what she was doing and shot her head up to take in the sight of the tall, thin boy she was practically on top of. Draco's face was similar to hers and he made no effort to move from where he was. She pulled away, embarrassed, and looked down with a sudden interest at the floor so he wouldn't see the blush fiercely painted on her cheeks.

She walked off, not finding the words to even apologize when he called out to her. "Silver." She jerked her body around doubtfully, not expecting him to talk to her.

He passed his long pale fingers through his hair before he continued. "Are you going tomorrow?" he was planning on saying more, but the moment his cold grey eyes were sucked into hers he felt at a loss for words.

"The bonfire? Well yeah, of course," She said before she added, "Are you?"

"Well yeah, I suppose. Don't have a date yet though." He tried to sound casual but stammered horribly.

"Anthony Goldstein just asked me a minute ago." She found herself staring at her flats again. A tinge of regret stung at her insides.

His face fell, the sadness disguised with indifference. "Ah, yes the prefect. Well have a good time then." He drawled before he stomped away.

He strode off leaving her alone in the empty corridor. Silver felt the saline of her beckoning tears tugging behind her eyes and blinked them away for as long as she could. She ran up the stairs, remembering not to cross the one that shifts its position on Fridays, and fell into the safety of her common room.

Dominic was inside sitting by the fire, out of his robes and just in his uniform when he noticed the grief in her usually bright green eyes. She spotted him and walked over to him as he stood up with his arms outstretched in front of him. She fell into his warm embrace and after a few seconds of weak debate, let the tears fall freely down her face. He didn't ask questions or even speak. He just sat her down beside him and let her cry onto his shoulder. It was too much for her, everything she had been holding in for so long had finally blown up in her face.

"An – An – thony asked me," she choked between gasps for air, "a-nd s-s-o did Ma-Malfoy."

He stroked her hair gently. Waiting until she finished. "But I s-said ye-yes to Anthony." She stammered, but tried to regain her composure realizing how dumb it all sounded out loud. She hated being seen this way. After about twenty minutes she thanked him and swore him to silence before she disappeared up the circular staircase to the girls dormitory.

Silver skipped dinner that night, insisting she was sick when a worried Luna asked her what was wrong. Blake told her she would bring up some food for her and they left her wrapped in the covers of her four-poster bed. She was done with crying, she had never been one to cry out all her sorrows. They just gradually began to build until one day she just couldn't help it anymore. Her head was throbbing though, and she was sure she needed to nap a little longer.

Draco surely noticed and couldn't eat much that night. He decided on making Parkinson's dreams come true during dinner as well.

"I see your surprise didn't quite work out for you, since you're still quite date-less for Halloween." Pansy noted. "It would certainly take the pressure off if you just took me wouldn't it?" she waited for his rejection but jumped off her seat in excitement when he nodded.

That night the hufflepuff prefects were on patrol duty and being too kind to punish any wandering student, Silver and Luna slipped away unnoticed. Ginny had told them to meet her in a room on the seventh floor. Apparently they were trying to gather a group of students to form an army of some sort. Luna was already set and convinced on joining, Silver was just following along to see what the fuss was about - and to distract her. Luna opened the door quietly, letting them both in. Inside was a group of about fourteen students lounging around the cushioned armchairs. The room itself looked like a basement, it was full of broken furniture, piles and piles of books, jewelry, cloaks, and even axes. Ginny Weasley ran over to greet them happily.

"I'm glad you two could make it, Harry wants to talk to us about Dumbledore's army. That is, the reason why we're here." She said very quickly. "And I finally asked him." she whispered at the end, her features instantly brightened, "and he said yes."

"So we meet again now do we?" Fred creeped up behind the unsuspecting brunette.

"Hi Fred! Where's the rest of you?" Silver asked referring to George as Ginny slapped him on the arm.

George and Ron were bickering about something when they noticed the new faces and walked towards the girls. Cho was in the group as well, talking to Harry about something when Hermione tugged his shirt and pointed at Luna and Silver. Hermione smiled widely followed by Ron when she hugged them quickly. She began to explain the reason why Harry had formed these meetings.

"We're here to enhance our knowledge of defense against the dark arts seeing as Umbridge has decided to teach us all pure rubbish during class time." Hermione sulked in disappointment, "Our parents pay for us to learn here at Hogwarts and she wastes our time with her silly rules. I've always been one to follow rules, after all they are the only way to have an organized society. But this woman has just taken it too far. We need to be prepared! And we are certainly not in any way ready for another attack!" she continued to ramble on in the background when Harry cut in.

"We have a lot to learn and we're not learning it is basically what she's trying to say." He grinned slightly before his tone grew more serious. "What we're doing, here, can not leave this room. If McGonagall heard about this – worse, if Umbridge heard about this we'd all be expelled."

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**A/N: So im trying to make this story go as smoothly as possible with the storyline of the actual book. I hope it's working!  
And i don't know how to thank you all enough for your AMAZING reviews!!!!!  
They make me so so happy, no lie. :)  
I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter!**

**There's still lots more to come!**


	16. Halloween

_Thank you so much to everyone who added my story to their favorites and put it on alert! :)  
And your reviews mean so much to me!_

_DayDreamBabyBee: I got so giddy when you wrote about how you got excited when I update. Thank you!!  
Vero: Thank you for the great review. Don't worry you can expect a lot more from Draco and Silver. It just might take a few chapters before we get there :)_

_Heads up!  
Long chapter ahead :)_

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**Halloween**

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Saturday morning came along and a certain group of fifteen were still fast asleep in their beds when students began to shuffle off to breakfast. Savannah stood alongside Lucinda in her dormitory trying to wake the sleeping duo.

"What is the matter with you two? Silver, it is very unlike you to skip breakfast. Well any meal for that matter." Savanna scowled growing annoyed.

Lucinda was off to fixing her large bow yet again, it seemed to be drooping off once more. And Savannah quickly snapped her fingers to regain her attention.

"Oh yes. Right. Up and at 'em Luna. We've at least managed to get Cho out of her covers."

Silver scampered in her covers and held them tightly around her body, grateful she had the top bunk when Savannah began to poke at Luna's side.

"Is it morning, already?" Silver yawned in the besieged darkness of her sheets. "It still seems pretty dark to me."

Savannah murmured something under her breath and went on to climbing up the wooden ladder and engaged in poking her as well. Silver fell into a fit of giggles and pushed her off.

"Stop it! That tickles!" she cried, still drowsy from the previous night. Savannah smiled at her accomplishment.

"At least you're up now. You can thank me later. We'll we're off then. We've been waiting for the two of you long enough." Savannah said.

Lucinda was at the mirror, once again adjusting her bow but was rudely interrupted when Savannah yanked her away.

"Oh alright then." Luna mumbled as she began to drag her legs to the side of the bed. Poor Luna, she didn't have the same privileges of the rest of the girls by having her own four poster bed. She had volunteered kindly to give Silver space in her dormitory and allowed a bunk to be put on top of hers. But Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw head, said the situation would be fixed shortly and they would both have their own soon enough. "So what do you say Silver? You think you'll keep going to the DA meetings?"

Silver was already rummaging through her drawers when Luna had asked. "I'm not sure, I mean, I'm sort of skittish about the whole thing. What if we get caught? I can't get expelled." She cringed at the idea of not having her own home to go to and being sent back to live with Lucius Malfoy. "I just can't afford it."

Luna nodded. "Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure."

Silver had to stop and face the dreamy blonde that had just been struck with pang of wisdom. She nodded in agreement and decided she would think about it before giving her final answer on the matter. They scampered off to change into their everyday clothes and joined their friends at breakfast, when it was nearly over. But at least they managed half of a slice of toast before the food began to vanish.

Silver walked outside the grounds of the castle with Dominic and Blake, which were both worked up about the fun they would have together. There was a change in plans, you see. Blake had asked Dominic to go with her when she found out that Alec Hirsch, her favorite hufflepuff, was taking another girl, which obviously wasn't her, to the bonfire. Dominic obliged and they decided to go as friends, since Padma was also taking someone else.

"And Anthony finally got around to asking you I see?" Blake winked before her eyes trailed off to the spot by a shady tree where he sat with a few fellow Ravenclaws. He had been staring tentatively at the raven haired beauty and she hadn't even noticed until Blake motioned her to look over in his direction.

"Oh for the love of Merlin." Silver blurted under her breath when she looked over at Dominic pleadingly. "I told you it was a bad idea."

Dominic shrugged his shoulders. "Right. Yes. It was a horrible idea. Did you already forget about what happened yesterday when he asked you? Sent Malfoy into a jealous rampage it did." He made sure to mention the name in a hasty whisper.

This was true. At least she hoped it was. After his reaction yesterday afternoon, there were only two ways Draco Malfoy would handle the situation. Either he would realize that his engagement to Pansy Parkinson was a load of toad manure and it wasn't worth straining their friendship (or upon recent developments she began to see it as a bit more than mere friendship) or he would completely hate her and never talk to her again. Right, no pressure.

This was her much thought of theory, after all it was all she could manage to brood about since it happened. The day had gone by slowly. She mostly spent it with Blake, which was casually finding herself in the same places as Alec.

"Oh my! There he is again! He _must_ be doing this on purpose I suppose." She would say whenever she spotted him and Silver couldn't help but laugh loudly each time. This was very entertaining, she had to admit. They ran into Ginny and Luna along the way and spent some time with them as well. They were both hyped with the overwhelming happiness of their dates tonight.

"All you had to do was ask Ginny. Of course he said yes. There was no doubting it." Silver didn't want to say _ I told you so_, but it was quite true. She did after all.

Ginny quickly wrapped her small arms around Silver's neck and gushed. "I really must thank the pep talk from the lot of you. It helped a great deal."

They walked off a bit farther from the school and noticed Hermione and Ron sitting by the lake. He was very animated in a story using his hands quite often and while she simply provided a good audience for the storyteller and laughed when it was appropriate. They were clearly enjoying their time together. Ginny pointed at a group of girls also sitting by the lake.

"Do you see that girl just there? With the long blond hair? That's Lavender Brown. Oh she must still be after my brother." Ginny said, annoyed.

Dominic was passing the four when he came up from behind and startled them to high heavens. He quickly apologized stifling his laughter and pulled Silver aside for a moment. Once they were out of view he opened a page of the Daily Prophet open and pointed to a headline. _Luminous Sneer trialed, trialed, and re-trialed._ She furrowed her brows, confused as to why this was relevant to her at all when he slid his thick fingers lower into the article.

_Luminous has been proven guilty before the Ministry of Magic to committing the killing curse on his wife of forty years. He will now be joining a long line awaiting their fatal sentence as well, including another recent captive, Barty Crouch Jr._

The words continued but Silver immediately shot her worried eyes at the boy.

"You mean to tell me he's still alive?" her words came out like gasps for air without her intending them to.

He nodded his head and waited for her to continue after a few seconds of silence. She didn't know what this meant exactly, it all just seemed like a shock to her. She had already accepted the fact that her "father" was already dead. Hence, she had made undeniably sure a copy of the newspaper never crossed her path. Her emotions on the subject were groggy and unclear, in a way she did feel a bit of remorse for what he must be going through at the moment. Sitting in his cell for what has now been two months, simply waiting for his fate. But then again, he was a deatheater and he had killed a multitude of innocent people.

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Terry, Dominic, and Anthony were all waiting in the common room, as promised, while the girls were putting the finishing touches on their appearances upstairs. Savannah was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a flowy peach top, Blake had light ripped jeans with a black ruffled shirt under a navy cardigan, Silver wore a black tank top as well, with a bright pink high waisted floral skirt with a long grey cardigan on top. And Luna, well Luna was wearing a bright orange skirt, tattered navy blue leggings underneath, a striped long sleeve with a grey t-shirt over and a purple messenger bag. An interesting choice of colors she wore, but this didn't surprise either of the girls. Savannah was the first to fun down the stairs into Terry's waiting arms.

"You look absolutely stunning love." He complimented as she pulled back and looked him over passing him a flattering remark as well.

Blake and Silver walked slowly down to their dates and hugged them hello before they walked off to meet Neville by the portrait of the fat lady. Luna and Neville walked ahead, followed by Anthony and Silver, Savannah and Terry, and Blake with Dominic. Luna was up front and had the first glimpse of the dark, open space in front of the swaying trees .The fifth year's faces were illuminated by the roaring fire as they fussed about who they were going to sit next to. Since Dominic was taller than the lot in front of him, he was able to see past them and noticed Draco Malfoy sitting beside Pansy Parkinson. He looked up ahead to find the wavy ebony hair of the girl he was searching for, and by the look on her face – she had seen them too.

Silver's evergreen eyes lingered on the blonde and then at Anthony. He was definitely nice to look at, that was for sure, with his sandy colored hair and ocean blue eyes. But the spark just wasn't there for her, although she did try on several occasions to imagine it. She followed Luna and Neville to an empty wooden log in the group where there were mostly Ravenclaws and Slytherins, and sat across from Malfoy. Draco too noticed Silver and her _date_. The all too well known prefect Anthony Goldstein, he had patrol duty with him once – and was now beginning to regret not casting some kind of spell on him. He would've looked so much nicer as a toad. Anthony was beginning to scoot closer to her as Silver obliviously chatted with Blake Trench and Dominic Dates a couple of people down from her. Draco glowered at him, shooting him a long hard look until Anthony finally noticed and twitched the side of his lips nervously.

Professor McGonagall neared the group of fifth years and graced them with a rare smile. "Students! How glad I am to see so many have turned up for the festivities!" she said. The house ghosts began to appear from all around them and swoop around the fire. "The ghosts have agreed to give you their takes on their most horrifying experiences, great fun it is indeed. We will have house elves bringing out a delightful feast of foods and desserts. Enjoy the night and most importantly, Happy Halloween! " and with that she made her exit on towards the second half of the group of students which was mostly composed of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors to deliver the same speech.

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington or as he is more famously known, nearly headless Nick, spoke first. His story about the way he nearly lost his head spent chills up each student's spine and sent others into chuckles as he got into every gruesome detail of the incident. Many were taking this opportunity to lean on their dates for support. Crabbe sat on the unoccupied side besides Pansy, Millicent sat with Blaise (on again?) and Goyle sat with some girl by the name of Daphne Greengrass.

Towards the other group, Ron was engrossed with the descriptions of the story and Hermione shuddered at every mention of blood, moving her closer to gripping Ron's elbow – which very much pleased him. Silver had no intention of clinging on to Anthony, but she did. Although she wasn't sure if it was more because of the story or Pansy's head leaning on Malfoy's shoulder.

He certainly noticed that the small loathsome girl next to him was practically on his lap. But he wasn't even thinking about her. He was off in his own little world, a perfect world in which he would be sitting with the most beautiful girl in the circle beside him. He couldn't help but glance in Silver's direction every say, thirty seconds. She looked stunning tonight – and she was there prancing along with Anthony. He didn't know for how much longer he could stand the torture of watching them cuddle, more so from Anthony than Silver. Why he seemed to care so much? He wasn't quite sure. But one thing he was sure of was that these feelings had been surfacing since the day Silver and he reunited. He hunched his head down in defeat, disregarding the girl leaning on him, and put his hands up to his face.

In that small second, Silver excused herself – telling Anthony that the fire was a little too warm and she needed some fresh air and walked into a small forest of billowing trees. She leaned against a trunk and felt her tired knees drag her down to the soft grass. He just had to come with Parkinson to rub it all in her face even more.

Draco unclasped his hands and walked off, not even glancing at Pansy. He too felt like he needed some fresh air – or maybe just an escape from watching the scene across from him. He walked off into the first dense huddle of foliage he spotted and nearly tripped on something on the ground. He looked over his shoulder and saw a pair of all too familiar bright green eyes staring up at him.

He didn't want to say it, he didn't want to sound like he had gone off his rocker and say it – but he did. "Why are you here with him?!" he lost his cool façade and practically yelled the words.

She looked startled and stood up quickly, keeping her ground. "Why are _you_ here with her?" she delivered with the same frustration he had. She moved around the tree to leave but was abruptly stopped when Draco grabbed her wrist - and her heart skipped a beat. He felt his face redden at his sudden actions but kept his hand firmly in place, mostly because he didn't want to let go. "Please let me explain." He pleaded softly.

His usually masqueraded eyes seemed to be overwhelmed with regret and so she stayed; nodding her head so he could begin, but averting her gaze towards the trees behind him.

"She lied alright?" he began calmly, but that didn't last for long when he noticed her indifference. "Bloody Hell Silver, Pansy lied. That was complete rubbish, her and I aren't getting married – _ever._" He looked like he wanted to say more but seemed to struggle for what to say next. "That, right there, just made me gag a bit. Simply thinking about it. She's unpleasant to be around. And - and – i." he said, not looking at her.

She waited to see if he would finish and then replied, seemingly unconvinced. "And you're trying to tell me Pansy knew I was there? So she just blurted out a lie. Oh alright then, well for someone who wants to puke at the sight of her – you two sure seem comfortable out there."

She didn't want to say it, but it just came out – word vomit. She pulled her free hand over her tightly shut eyes immediately regretting what she said, now she seemed like she had spent the entire night watching them. He still had his hand firmly planted on her wrist and she pulled it away harshly. His hand fell limply onto his side and he added. "Father thinks it's best if she and I do become engaged to be married one day." He confessed more to himself, than to her. "But that's not what I want. I would've told –"

That did it.

"Father this, and father that!" she burst. "When are you going to think on your own and not do what father says?"

He couldn't move, less find the words to keep her from walking away, leaving him alone to his thoughts amongst the swaggering trees.

"_One day I want to have a big wedding with flowers everywhere," Silver began to describe the scene in a dream-like state, "so many, that it's all you can smell and pretty tables and – FOOD! Lots of food and desserts and –" _

"_That sounds lovely, but have you thought about with who? Because to have a wedding, you do realize you need someone to get married to." An eight year old Draco asked curiously, always the smart mouth._

_She put her finger up to her chin in thought. "Well, I suppose it has to be someone I like being with." She continued to think tirelessly. "Sort of like a best friend I think." She looked up at his big grey eyes and smiled. "I think you will do."_

_His pale cheeks turned into a bright shade of red. "Gross!" he stuck out his tongue. "I'm never getting married – how can I? I'm probably going to have girls after me 'til I'm fifty." He said rather proudly, hiding the sudden rush of butterflies he felt at the idea of Silver's suggestion._

_She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Boys." And then continued on, "Wait until you see the day when you fall madly in love with a girl and those childish ideas all change." _

It was just now when he realized just how right she was. And there was no way he could go back out there to face her and the rest of his classmates now.

Silver marched away from the billowing trees and walked straight past her friends towards the castle. Anthony was sitting alone when he squinted to see her figure in the darkness, he stood up and went chasing after her.

"Where are you going? What's wrong?" he blurted as he tried to grab a hold of one of her swinging arms. She turned to face him, she wasn't crying – but her eyes were in the early stages of it.

"I'm fine. Just going inside to eat." She lied staring off to the grass beneath them.

"I'm hungry too." He said quickly.

She sighed tiredly and motioned him to follow her, after what had happened with Draco she was in no mood to continue bickering.

Dominic's brown eyes were etched in worry as he followed the two leaving, he knew why she was so aggravated. She had seen her leave the circle, Malfoy leaving just seconds after. And he was almost certain that Anthony was the last person she would want hovering around her now.

A few minutes later Silver had managed to put aside what had happened and was enjoying the Halloween banquet laughing each time a bat took a swoop down at Anthony's plate to steal a bite of his pumpkin pie.

"I don't understand why they're after just me! See there, it hasn't even bothered a second glance at your plate!" Anthony said while he put his hands in the shape of a small fort to block the pesky attackers.

She belted over in laughter and took a slow bite of the dessert, waving it in the air a bit to show him how her slice was nowhere near intriguing as his to the small creatures. He crossed his arms in front of him but quickly moved them back over his food when another bat dove in.

"Rubbish is what this is!"

She looked around the festively decorated great hall and at all the third and fourth years enjoying themselves.

"I think your just bad luck."

He grinned. "Oh really? You think so?"

She simply nodded her head and he closed the space between them, putting his plate right beside hers. "There, now if they want my dessert, the sneaky little things need to get by yours first."

She looked a bit surprised for a moment at his sudden action, but didn't move away thinking it would be rude of her to do so. He began to talk about the gifts his sister had sent him from France, where she attended Beauxbatons. It was an interesting little thing, he explained how it was a kind of silent whistle that would bounce back to you whenever there was a Professor nearby. Useful for when you wanted to sneak out after curfew. The conversation then took a more serious turn when he mentioned the rumors of Professor Umbridge starting some kind of squad of Super Prefects. A group of students she gathered that would receive extra credit whenever they would report any rule-breakers.

"At least that's what I heard Hannah Abbot going on about at our meeting last Tuesday." He said referring to their monthly prefect meetings, "Padma think's its all a rumor."

Her eyes burned with curiosity and she bit her lip to stop herself from asking him about Malfoy's thoughts on it.

"And the others? What'd they think?"

He raised a neat brow at her, his turquoise eyes skeptical. "Hermione and Ron believed it, wouldn't surprise them if it were true. Parkinson and Malfoy didn't say anything about it, just stayed quiet in their seats."

Satisfied with his answer she quickly changed the subject back to the possibilities of his sister's gift.

Blake had been eyeing Alec all night, finding ways to make him jealous. Dominic was beginning to feel uncomftorable – he wasn't used to being treated like a puppet, but then again who was?

"Will you stop naggig and just go talk to him?" Dominic said as he squirmed out of Blake's grip and pushed her off the log.

She was about to tell Dominic to sod off when his date stood up and walked off. Dominic prodded her back and she felt a small boost of adrenaline run through her veins. Then she hurriedly stood up, afraid she would lose inertia, and darted over to sit beside him.

"Blake –".

"We need to talk, " she began, "Why didn't you ask me? I thought we were you know…._together. _Was I wrong? I mean –" she began to ramble off when this time he was the one to interrupt.

He smiled at her and she felt her insides churn into butter when he pulled his hand up to stroke her cheek. He chuckled a little before he spoke. "You thought I was – with her?" he chortled, "That's rather disturbing considering she's my cousin and all."

Blake's pale cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. And he put his free hand on the other side of her cheek to move their faces closer together.

Hermione and Ron were in deep conversation when Lavender rudely joined in. Harry poked his head in to save the day and pushed her aside to ask her about an assignment in their History of Magic class.

Pansy was beginning to worry about the blonde boy, which had been gone for too long."Where has he gone to?" Pansy said.

"Beats me." Crabbe said stupidly.

"Oh! hadn't even noticed he'd gone off." Blaise said, his arms somewhere lost in the tangle Millicent and his own body had formed.

She huffed and threw her hands under her chin.

He was still rooted at the spot where Silver had left him. His thoughts were somersaulting through his already consumed mind. He felt dizzy and leaned on the thick bark of the tree beside him when he he felt the wrinkled parchment in his pockets as he released his hands on his side. He had decided to ignore it, the letter from his father that is. Pretend he never received it was his excuse if his father should ever ask. But he knew it wouldn't be long before his father would make a personal appearance.

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_A/N: Today was one of those days that I just had an ocean of ideas for the story just come to me.  
I wrote just about the next three chapters for the story and they're so good! I promise.  
I was tempted to just upload them all at the same time but I dont know, I think I want to keep you all in suspense ;)  
Just expect my updates to be coming a lot quicker than usual this week._

_I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.  
Draco's starting to realize that his feelings for Silver are a little beyond the friend zone at the moment and he's just a big cute bundle of frustration.  
While she on the other hand, has sort of realized her feelings as well - but she's just so mad at him, she seems to have forgotten.  
Uh,oh.  
On a brighter note, things are looking good for Blake, Hermione, and Ginny.  
Who's your favorite pairing as of now?  
Do you guys want Lavender and/or Cho to interfere?_

_REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!  
please :)  
_


	17. Disagreement

_So many hits and just two reviews? :(  
Not that I'm not grateful for the wonderful reviews I did receive from DayDreamBabyBee and Mrs . Malfoy98! You guys are amazing!_

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**Disagreements**

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Sleeping was simply out of the question for the disheveled blond. Pansy and Millicent had just gone down to the common room to pick up a book they had left behind when they crossed a tired Draco slumped across a couch. Pansy eyed him curiously and cautiously approached him.

"Malfoy?" she beckoned, reaching closer. He continued to stare into the empty fireplace.

"Where had you gone off to? Blaise went off looking…", She trailed off.

"I'm fine Parkinson….thanks." His voice didn't have its usual icy edge, it was low and thoughtful. She processed his lack of snide remarks as a safe invitation to take a seat on the other side of the long couch.

"I'm almost certain you wont tell me what's bothering you," Pansy said, "but you wouldn't mind some company would you?"

Pansy never ceased to amaze him, whether it was for the good or the bad. He was sure she would have told him to sod off and grow up. He smiled at her gesture, sliding to the edge to make some room for Millicent.

A piece of hanging blue drapery slightly began to sway when it unlatched from the walls, Silver focused solely on the fabric across the common room in thought. She had spent the rest of the night with Anthony until they parted ways to go up to their dormitories. After tossing and turning, sleep certainly wasn't paying her a visit and she had decided to go downstairs.

"How was your night love?" Dominic's voice brought her back to the present. He was comfortably sprawled across a couch reading when she came in.

She smiled weakly. "Not bad, Anthony and I went off to eat early –"

Dominic cut her short. "I wasn't talking about the bit you spent with Anthony."

"Oh," She murmured, "Right. Well then, my night was a trainwreck." She plopped on the nearest armchair.

He laughed lightly and then went to sit beside her. "What happened?"

She told him everything from the moment she saw his shadowed figure tripping over her leg, their argument, and to the moment she left, infuriated. Her stomach made sure to always tighten in the end, like a painful ache.

"Then Anthony followed me, and we ate – he tried to give me a _proper_ goodbye, but I didn't let him." she laughed.

"Ah, yes so predictable of Anthony to snog on the first date," Dominic was not at all happy with what he had just heard, "and then he simply adds you to his little black book of snog. I'm sure Malfoy would turn him into a hideous gnome if he found out." Dominic winked and Silver quickly shot up, her laughter subsided almost instantly.

"He doesn't care Dom. Did you fall asleep while I was speaking? After what I told him today – I'd surprised if he ever decides to speak to me again."

"He needed to hear it, didn't he? By what you've told me, at least, seems like he did." Dominic said.

She smiled weakly before she leaned her head back. "I can't believe Pansy Parkinson. She's never liked me I know that, I just didn't think she would go to such extreme measures to get me out of her way."

Dominic shrugged. "That's the bit that surprised me the least. Should've thought about it earlier actually - sounds very much like Parkinson. Don't blame her though, Draco and her were dating last year, went to the Yule ball as a couple." he said carefully watching her reaction.

Her worst fears had been confirmed. A new type of bitterness formed a bundle in the pit of her stomach.

They all hurried down to breakfast the next morning. Owls swooped in from all sides to deliver the post, as well as a few stray bats Filch and Mrs. Norris were chasing around to get rid of. Anthony's ego had been dented last night, but it had seemed to have boosted since then. He took a seat across from Silver and bantered on about the fun he had had, even pointing up at a few bats – trying to reenact the night's events. Silver smiled when appropriate, and laughed at others, but she wasn't too preoccupied with the conversation – her eyes would wander off to the pale boy in the Slytherin table. Draco could feel her gaze on him, he'd gotten the courage to even meet her stare once or twice, but he tried to seem interested in the conversation around him.

After breakfast Silver, Luna, Blake, Ginny, and Hermione spent a large portion of the day in the library getting homework done.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Ginny noted as Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini sat at a table near them joining Millicent Bulstrode.

Hermione looked offended at Ginny's remark. "Sorry Hermione – I didn't mean Crookshanks."

Blaise noticed the wandering eyes of the Weaslette burning a hole through his head. "Weasley I see you've been slacking off a bit. You seem to have missed a spot, just there." Blaise pointed at a spot on his table as he pulled his seat out, "or is that something one of your Weasel brothers should've already taken care of?"

Millicent erupted in a roar of laughter. "Darling can't you see she doesn't have time to clean the tables? Look at her robes! They're falling apart. How many have used those robes before you Weasley? At least fifty I think."

Ginny spoke up valiantly to defend herself. "Oh is that all? You really do need new material Bulstrode. It's pathetic really."

"No Weasley, what's pathetic is your traitor muggle loving father." Blaise shot back snidely.

Hermione was about to say something before Blaise silenced her. "And what were you going to say? Eh Mudblood?" He smiled arrogantly at her silence. "Would you look at this Malfoy – seems like we have quite the lot beside us. A mudblood, a Weaslette – short of her Weasels, Looney Lovegood, and…" Blaise trailed off to the spot where Blake sat and landed on Silver, whose face was hot with anger.

"- and the orphan." he added. Most of the Slytherins close to Draco knew of her situation, mostly because they were together as children.

"Shut up Blaise." Draco said. Silver pushed her seat back and made her way to his table, lancing her wand at the boy. Ginny gasped.

"One more word Zabini." She threatened an icy edge in her usually warm voice, advancing towards him.

He hadn't noticed the wand pointed at his chest and backed into a bookshelf, startled, erasing the smug look on his face. Hermione jumped in her seat, throwing her hands over her mouth. "Silver stop it. If someone sees you –."

"Right. Listen to Granger ." Zabini stammered, stepping away from her wand.

Silver could feel Draco's eyes on her and wondered why he hadn't said anything to mediate his friend. She discreetly pulled down her wand and placed it in the pocket of her jeans. "You can go change your pants now Zabini." She said before she trudged back toward her bewildered friends.

"I can't believe you just –" Ginny began.

"Zabini could've hexed you." Blake continued.

"That was completely irresponsible of you.... but brilliant!" Hermione finished.

Luna simply stared at the girls awe-stricken. "Wicked."

The group was fiddling in excitement. No one had ever dared stand up to Blaise Zabini, any Slytherin at that. But Silver was anything but, she couldn't help but stare back at Malfoy and his pleading eyes. A short while later the girls left the library, after completing their assignments, and barreled on their way to their common rooms. The halls were bustling with students grouped around chatting and laughing. Just then Professor Umbridge came trodding down the halls and everyone stood silent. She grinned unpleasntly and took small steps through the opening the students had formed for her. "Behave children. Remember....I'm watching."The grin never leaving her face. Everyone shuffled back to their places when it was sure the halls were clear. Silver and Luna stopped at a group of Ravenclaw's and stood beside Savannah for a bit before Silver was struck with a pang of realization.

"Oh Luna. I forgot my book back at the library." Silver frowned.

"Should I go with you?" Luna asked. But Silver shook her head to stay, insisting it was too long of a walk to make again. She separated from the group and zipped her way through the crowd. She traveled up a few flights of stairs and rounded a corner, almost there, but heard a chortle disturb the silence of the library corridor. Peeves suddely came up behind her and gave her quite a fright. She dashed off, not looking to see where she was going and landed on a body, sending them both careening into the floor. She wasn't hurt, just a little dazed and out of breath from her sprint, not quite realizing her body was still flattened against a poor boy. A poor _muscular_ boy. She braced her hands on either side of her chiseled victim and began apologizing indefinitely before she was staring into a pair of all too familiar grey eyes.

"Merlin..." She whispered, still partially laying on his hard body. A tingle of awareness of his masculine frame ran through her for an instant before she hoisted herself off him and plopped on the floor. Her face was a smoldering shade of red as she still found herself still thinking about his chiseled frame that had been beneath her just seconds ago.

He lifted himself up and outstretched his arm to help her up, which she refused and shuffled off the floor herself.

She looked him over for a short moment before she muttered "Sorry....again."

He stared at her blankly when she had finished speaking as he attempted to steady his breathing to bring his beet red blush down a notch. There was an awkward tension evident in the air between them and she began to play with her hair, as she did whenever nerves were getting the best of her. Until finally he spoke."What Blaise said in the library was….out of line, he shouldn't have insulted you all like that -."

She interrupted."But he did, and you were complacent in just watching weren't you?" she said scornfully.

"And so you expect me to just defend the lot of you in front of him and Millicent like that? I've told you about my reputation here – I can't just go around committing to good deeds and standing up for Gryffindors!" He tried to explain but to no avail.

"Well then, I don't see why you need me around then." She said realizing how saying it out loud stung sourly at her sides.

"No that has nothing to do with _them._" He said exasperated. She had no idea how much he really needed her, in more ways than one -especially now, after feeling her soft body laying on top of his. "You haven't the slightest idea of what's been going on." his voice almost sad.

"I'm not asking you to tell me anything. Your life is all your own." She spat before remembering she had knocked him down on the floor. "You're alright then?" Her voice softened a bit.

"He's fine Crouch." A sneering voice interrupted. Her body stiffened as Blaise Zabini rounded the corner. "You on the other hand, should be more concerned with your own health." He made his way to stand beside his friend. His hand inched towards his wand when Draco firmly grasped his forearm to stop him, the look on Blaise's face causing him to cringe internally. He had never seen him so angry. "What are you doing Malfoy?" He spat venemously but Draco kept a firm hold on his arm.

Dominic and Anthony were on their way to the library when they crossed the landing of the staircase and came across the scene before them. Dominic eyes narrowed when he took in the sight of his friend being towered over by the two large Slytherins and rushed over to her. Anthony followed suit and placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. A tingle of relief washed over her at the sight of Dominic, but it then grew into uncomfort when she felt arms around her.

"What's going on?" Dominic demanded glaring at the boys before him, standing protectively in front of the girl.

"Nothing. We were just leaving." Draco drawled, keeping his eyes set on Anthony's arm and Silver's shoulders.

"You know very well you can't use magic outside of class Malfoy." Anthony said, already in prefect mode.

"I'm well aware of the rules Goldstein, I'm a prefect too in case you've forgotten, and I can assure you no one was using magic." Draco said snidely. A sort of accomplishment welled within her when she noticed he had listened to her and stopped Zabini, but she wasn't about to show it."Yes, no magic here. Come on Dom, I left something in the library." She advanced slightly to tug at the back of his shirt and he turned to face her. She gestured for him to follow her and he did, but not before he stared the two Slytherins down to a pulp.

"Dim-witted gits." Blaise and Draco certainly heard Dates mumble this, but decided not to push it further by retaliating. Quite frankly Draco was too consumed in trying to find a way to avoid his hot headed friend, but as soon as the three of them had disappeared he knew there was no way around his oncoming wrath. "Have you gone mad?" Blaise was now yelling, furious.

Draco took on a similar stance to him, easily towering over him. "And why do you suppose I've gone mad Zabini? Is it because I saved you a trip to Snape? You can't tell me you didn't see Goldstein coming."

Blaise froze in thought. "How did you see them? They weren't even around before -"

"I heard them clambering up the stairs. You seem to have been to busy to have heard." Draco lied.

Blaise's expression softened dramatically, now it looked as if he had just been saved by an angel. "Wow. Thanks a lot mate."

The way Draco had just concucted this, was a surprise to himself even. But it had worked out and gotten Blaise off his back for now, at least.

Word had spread to the entire house when Anthony and Dominic arrived with Silver. The group was still huddled talking amongst each other when a worried Savannah broke her way through. "Alec from Hufflepuff just came and told us there was a fight about to break out in front of the library."She pulled in to drag Silver away from the boys.

"That's where you went. Are you all right?" Luna asked, just as worried as Savannah.

Blake embraced her friend in a bone crushing hug."Blake I'm fine!" Silver laughed lightly. "There was just a bit of a spat between Zabini and me."

"I knew you shouldn't have been so bold in the library." Hermione popped out from behind Luna, Harry and Ron following suit.

"I'm fine Hermione, really I am." Silver reassured them when Harry and Ron began to inspect her for any sight of bruises or injuries.

"Honestly guys I'm completely unscathed, safe and sound." She pushed Harry off her arm when he grabbed it for examination.

"Yeah, they didn't have a chance to pull out their wands before we got there." Anthony fed the fire.

"They?" Ron asked. "Bloody hell Silver you just started here and you have two madmen trying to bloody kill you!" Ron said exasperated.

"Who's _they_ Goldstein?" Harry inquired.

"Well Malfoy, of course, who else?" Anthony said.

"You know very well Dra...Malfoy didn't do anything. He actually stopped Zabini from lifting his wand at me." Silver said, trying to make them settle down.

"That's what you think. If we hadn't shown up - he wouldn't have been scared stiff from reaching for it." Anthony attempted to put his arm around her but she squirmed away walking over to Luna and Blake.

"Can we go, please?" she pleaded. Her friends quickly understood, Luna laced her arm with Silver and lead her away, Blake quickly following.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!  
I just wanted to heat things up with Silver and Draco a bit ;)  
And then bring them down again. Sorry!**

**So I've decided I'm going to give anyone who reviews this chapter a preview of the next one!  
Hopefully that prompts a few more people to review. maybe? You know you want to! :)**


	18. Makeup or Breakup?

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Makeup or Breakup?

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"Care to tell me what all of that was about?" An impatient Dominic sat with Luna and Silver in their common room after dinner.

"What was about?" Silver tried to play dumb, but it wasn't quite working.

"Can you answer the question before I throw you out a window."

"You wouldn't throw me out a window." Silver said confidently.

"Just answer the question!" He urged, more impatient that ever.

She looked at Luna and then around the room to make sure no one else was within hearing distance. "Zabini and I had a bit of a spat in the library earlier…"

"What kind of spat?"

"She pulled out her wand and threatened him," Luna said nonchalantly, "good move on her part, I think, he was being a prat -"

"YOU WHAT?" Dominic was close to yelling when Silver threw her hand over his mouth to silence him.

"He was being an idiot. That's what idiots deserve, wouldn't you agree Luna?"

"Undoubtedly, even more so when he called you an orphan," which got Luna around to thinking, "Why _did _he call you an orphan? Don't you live with your aunts in America?"

Silver seemed to be struggling for an answer and Dominic was wide-eyed. "Yes. Right. She does, I suppose he's just making her feel bad for losing her actual parents. Your right – he is a prat."

Luna seemed confused. "But how would Zabini know about -"

Silver interrupted her abruptly."Good, Alright now that we're all on the same page – I suppose that was somewhat of a trigger when I ran into Dra..Malfoy on my second trip to the library."

"You ran into him did you?" Dominic seemed pleased.

Silver completely disregarded him and continued as if he hadn't spoken at all. "And then Zabini just seemed to appear out of thin air and that's when he tried to hex me or whatever it was he thought his flimsy wand could manage."

"So it wasn't Malfoy?" This time it was Blake's voice interrupting.

"No…Malfoy held him back actually." Silver informed, she noticed Dominic grinning but once again resorted to ignoring him.

"That gives him a bit more credit to being a decent person." Blake noted.

They talked into the better part of the evening, until the conversation steered in the direction of Luna and Blake's infatuations, Neville and Alec. Dominic took his leave upon hearing them gush on about them, saying he had a paper to finish for DADA (Defense against the Dark Arts). Cho was now sitting around them as well, along with Pavarti and Savannah. Which each took a nudge at asking Silver about what had happened, but neither of them received an answer.

Monday morning dawned grey and gloomy. The fattened clouds were threatening to burst into a downpour and there was a hardly a difference between the day and night with how dark the sky looked. It wasn't until first period that the pitter patter of rain was heard knocking against the castle walls. Professor Snape was absent, again, and Professor Filtwick was placed as substitute.

"Potions certainly isn't my cup of tea, and so I prefer to just have you all read the chapter if you will." He mentioned in the beginning of class. The students unzipped their bags and pulled out their books, which were rarely used for class. Potions was usually more hands-on. Draco was fiddling with the corner of a page, his thoughts were somewhere else. He was actually relieved that the awkwardness of working with his partner today was alleviated. He spent the better part of the hour and a half glancing over at Silver through the corner of his eye because she had gone off with Trench to stand by the professor's desk.

"Professor, why did they place _you_ as a substitute for Potions? Of all teachers in the school?" Silver asked, for she and Blake knew their head of house well.

"I haven't the slightest idea really. I suppose it's because I don't have a class this hour, but to conduct a Potions lesson is foreign to me." Blake and Silver look at each other comically.

"Well we certainly prefer you over Professor Snape." Blake grunted in a hurry.

Professor Flitwick teased a grin. "He can be a bit daunting, but none of that from you two. A Ravenclaw does not speak foul of others, especially professors." He said seriously. "Now, I was informed he will be returning before the class has ended and it would be most inconvenient if you two are caught chit chatting with me if he walks in. Please do take your seat girls. We need all our house points if we're going to win this year." He said, rather proud.

Blake and Silver heeded his request and wandered back to their respective seats but not before the door of the classroom swung open and revealed a cloaked man hastily trotting down the aisle. Silver stood in panic as the man approached her.

"And why are we standing in the middle of my class Ms. Crouch? Taking unfair advantage of the substitute?" he said quietly, almost urgently.

She stood frozen in shock until she shook her head and quickly jolted out a response. "No of course not Professor, I just – I dropped my quill you see and I was just picking it up."

He wrinkled his black eyebrows together. "Oh really? So your _quill_ flew off and you had to catch it mid-air? Because I wouldn't see why else you would be standing." His said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

She wanted to say yes sir, that's precisely what happened actually. Then mix in some lie about Draco Malfoy charming it to wander off on its own, but instead slumped into her chair. "Well no, that would be rather silly wouldn't it? You simply caught me as I was about to sit after reaching for it on the ground….sir."

Blake grinned on the other end of the classroom, a similar expression of Filtwick's face before he decided to aide the poor girl. "Professor Snape does this mean you've returned? Wonderful, I have something to show you over here."

"Hmph." Snape gave her one last warning glare before he pulled his cloak along and paraded down to the professor.

If it was one thing this school was turning her into it was a compulsive liar. She had never had a professor deride her as much as Snape managed to do. She was simply running short of excuses for him already.

"Good save." She heard a faint murmur coming from the boy beside her. "I almost believed it myself."

Silver raised an eyebrow at Malfoy. "You're lucky I used that instead. I was planning on saying you charmed my quill."

He snickered for a short moment. "Right. Well, I'm glad you didn't then."

She looked at him closely and smiled weakly, he seemed to be bothered by something. But she brushed it off and turned away when Ron and Hermione called her from behind. Harry looked at Malfoy crossly, he had noticed her talking to him but then went turned to his partner when Neville Longbottom managed to drop his book on the floor with a loud thud. On their way to class the golden trio and Blake insisted Silver sit somewhere else, anywhere but next to Malfoy. They were worried sick since the incident that occurred in the library.

The bell rang and Silver hurriedly gathered her things and threw her bag over her shoulder. She wasn't up for Blake's stories about her make-up date with Alec Hirsch - not when she was in her own unrequited romance story with her bipolar Slytherin friend. There was too much swarming around her mind right now. She felt footsteps behind her and brushed them off as belonging to the red head.

"Blake I'm just going outside for a bit." She waited for her response. Nothing. Ah, of course, because after a slight twist of her head, it wasn't her friend at all.

"I don't know if I should be slighted that you thought I was a girl." Draco sneered, his smirk plastered neatly across his face.

She laughed lightly and continued walking. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

She was interrupted by the sound of his breathing. He was standing on the other side of the room how could she hear him breathe? She turned her head once again; it seems he's a very fast walker.

"You were right – about all of it." He whispered a little too quickly, she was sure she had missed half of his statement.

She looked at him questionably. "Care to enlighten me?"

"What you said yesterday…and several times before."

"And it took 'til just now to figure it out?" She teased. She knew how hard it was for him to admit that he might have been wrong.

"I'm glad you can at least poke some fun out of this."He laughed for a short moment but stopped when he heard two passing third years glancing in their direction, gossiping. "How about we go outside? It's where you were headed anyways. By the way Trench stayed inside with some Hufflepuff." he stated blankly.

Silver grinned. It was ridiculous how Blake had any boy she wanted wrapped around her finger.

They found a large decrypt tree, decrypt because it was almost barren, missing most of its leaves. Silver sat down, Draco paced and seemed to be taking in the view of the far off mountains until he looked around for a place to sit, but instead leaned up on the tree beside her. There seemed to be an interlude with the weather, it had stopped raining but the sky was stlil as dark as ever. They were by the mountains facing the west side of the school. More precisely - directly across the Ravenclaw Tower.

"I really can't keep up anymore." Savannah said, standing by the window of the tower. "I could've sworn that last time I talked to her - she said she hated him."

Lucinda fixed her large blue bow and walked towards Savannah."Why are you spying on Malfoy?" her eyebrows fixed questionably. "OH MY GOD YOU DON'T LIKE HIM DO YOU?" she spit out, her sapphire eyes almost popping out of their sockets. A few students in the common room had turned their heads in curiosity.

Savannah jumped in the air. "Are you absolutely mad Lucinda Lyons?" she cried out anxiously, speaking clearly enough so the eavesdroppers would hear. "The only reason I'm spying on that worthless lout is because he's outside with Silver!" She straightened out her robes, looking around the room, and corrected herself. "And I'm not spying, think of it as more of – investigating."

Terry Boot closed the book in his lap. "I think I might be jealous."

Draco flopped against the tree and then landed on the grass next to Silver. She remembered he had been cut off in the dungeons and gave his memory a push. "So there was something you needed to tell me?"

He looked at her a bit confused but then nodded his head in comprehension."Oh. Yes. Right. "He said faintly.

Silver nodded in encouragement."Well out with it then."

He cleared his throat, very professionally - as if he was about to deliver a hard worked speech. He searched through his pant pockets and dragged out a wrinkled piece of paper.

"I think it might be best if you just read this." he mumbled, placing the parchment in her lap.

She picked it up and separated them, one was a wrinkled and beige, the other seemed to be paper from a notebook. She read that one first. It looked like something he had just scribbled in class.

"Did you just write this?" she stifled a laugh and he nodded. "I prefer writing things down then talking about them." He said sheepishly, fidgeting in the grass.

_Silver,_

_I just wanted to apologize I suppose, very unlike me I know. Pansy Parkinson is a liar, we're not getting married – which I hope you finally ingrained into your thick skull Saturday night. _Silver grinned. _Blaise is my best mate, he can be a little outspoken at times but then again so can I. That's partially why we get on so well. And so I hope you understand why I was rather mute yesterday. You're as important to me as he is and that's why I just ask you for some time to sort things out. Balance them out. But until I do, it'd be brilliant if you would start talking to me again._

She realized how much it took out of Draco's pride to write something like this, and she understood even more so why he couldn't brave to say it out loud._ You're as important to me as he is. _She summoned a cheeky grin, an exciting feeling surronding her stomach." I think I cried a little." She whimpered sarcastically.

"Sod off. This is why I don't tell you anything." He smiled widely but frowned almost instantly. "That's the good for the day and it certainly doesn't get any better than that." He gestured at the remaining parchment crumpled in her lap.

The first thing she noticed was that it was addressed to Draco. Her eyes trailed over to the signature at the end. _Lucius Malfoy. _She read over the impeccable script carefully. He watched her varied degress of expressions fluster in confusion and shock until she finally set her horror stricken eyes on his.

"What?" She didn't know what to say.

"Exactly what you read. Father owled me to consider being initiated." His voice was blank and dull, "not that it's ever personal choice when it concerns him."

He sighed heavily and brought his head down to his knees. He hadn't re-opened the letter to look at since he had received it Halloween morning. He wasn't even sure of his own life at the present, how could he consider just giving it _away _to the dark lord. His vision was threatening to fog as he felt saline escaping the corner of his grey eyes. But he wouldn't falter, not now. And so he valiantly blinked them away with no chance of defeat.

His internal battles paused temporarily when leaves began to rustle about him. She stood and stepped forward, kneeling beside him. Her hand hesitantly rose to hold his shoulder precariously. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to." She whispered close to his ear. He shook his head and suddenly felt two thin arms around his own, his heartbeat quickening tumultuously. "I'm here, I promise." And as soon as he heard those words he felt a dwindling hope reappear.

He shifted his body and wrapped his arms tightly around her small waist, inhaling her scent. The smell of her perfume comforted her - she smelled like raspberries and some kind of flower he was sure to have smelled before. Draco obviously wasn't one to pay attention to flowers, but what he was growing more aware of was the feeling of her body next to his once again – this time by choice.

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but blush feverishly at his embrace. Her face was hot and her cheeks were sure to have been as bright as a radish. The moment he had reached for her, she felt her stomach tighten and a tingle of excitement run through her body. It felt so natural being with him again, comforting him like she had done so many times before.

_He ran through the large, neverending corridors of his manor - seemingly finding himself lost in his own house, but there was one place he would never lose sight of. He stumbled onto the east wing of his manor, the guest corridor, and found the door he had been seraching for. He threw his fist against the wood repeatedly, knocking violently. He was struggling with some pesky tears that had already made their way down his pale cheeks and he used his free hand to wipe them off. The door finally swung open revealing a girl of his age staring back at him, her face full of worry when she noticed his tear-stricken face._

_"What wrong Draco?" A ten year old Silver held out her arms to hold the disheveled blonde before her. He graciously accepted the invitation and fell into her embrace in no condition to explain what had just happened. He was sobbing uncontrollably and couldn't find a way to get the words out. She closed the door behind them and led him to a small couch by a window. _

_"It's alright." She repeated as she stroked his hair gently in an effort to soothe him. She knew what had happened, Lucius and Narcissa's yells were echoed throughout the manor.  
_

He wanted to the moment to last a bit longer. He had his mindset that it was a bad idea to tell her about the letter, about his father beckoning him to join Voldermort's forces. But now he was relieved he did, he wanted to share everything with her and confider in her the way he did so easily when they were younger. He moaned inwardly when she slowly pulled away from his embrace.

"He didn't say when." She murmured. Draco was still disappointed she had pulled back and creased his brows, confused.

"Well he wants you to be initiated, but he can't anytime soon right? I mean you're just fifteen. Narcissa wouldn't allow it."

Draco sighed. "You know very well that my mother hasn't a drop of influence on my father. He doesn't listen to her, to anyone actually."

"Well, yes. That's right. But I'm certain that Dumbledore wouldn't be too happy with the idea of a deatheater attending Hogwarts would he?"

He shook his head frantically. "You can't tell Dumbledore! It'll get my father into Azkaban without a doubt."

Silver wanted to say, _'And that would be a bad thing how?'_, but instead sulked into the grass.

"Well then, you have nothing to worry about for now, I think. After all Voldermort is scared of him and you can be sure your father wants you to finish your schooling."

He felt as if a world had been taken off his shoulders. Not for her words, because really they hadn't conjured up a solution for the problem, but because hopefully things would be back to the way they once were. Quickly deciding this had dragged on for too long, talking about his father that is, he changed the subject.

"Barty's sentence isn't to be carried out 'til early Janurary." he stated catching a glimpse of mild grief in her bright eyes.

"I heard. Why do you suppose they're making him wait for so long?"

He shrugged. "Father was talking to Crabbe Sr., something about everyone getting thrown in Azkaban lately. He supposes their forces have been decreasing. The dark lord's recruiting…." He trailed off, knowing very well that was the reason he was being sought after.

The hairs behind her neck stood at the thought. "You know that can't happen."

He stood silent, staring off into the mountains blankly. "I don't see how anyone could stop him." he laughed humorlessly before he continued. "You know Voldermort wasn't a pureblood? I just found out you see. That was a turning point for me I suppose. The one man who's trying to purify the wizarding world, should be the first one to get rid of. Ironic, isn't it?"

This seemed all too familiar to them. Except the last time they had this conversation was May, nearly five years ago, before she left to Salem. A younger Draco would rant about the good Voldermort was doing. "What a great man," he would say. "Going to make the world a better place for all of us, just you watch –father says so. Filthy mudbloods shouldn't even be allowed to have magic." She felt sympathy for the helpless boy beside her. He went through so much and he hadn't a single soul to confide in since she left.

She meekly tried to lighten the mood after noticing his distraught expression. "Have you realized," she paused and turned to him, "that Pansy very similarly resembles a pug."

He laughed, her flowery scent soothing him, and quickly asked. "What's a pug?"

She bent over in laughter as he watched her, clearly amused. "Oh when will you ever learn? It's a type of dog, you see. And it's face is shriveled up like this-" She scrunched her nose and barked quietly. Aware that there might be spectators.

"Just like that?" he mused. "Well I think Pansy suits it well, but as for you. Most unbecoming I must say."

She opened her mouth in shock and whacked him in the arm.

And spectators there were. The two didn't seem to notice they were out there so long, they talked right through Umbridge's class. No hiding they would certainly hear about this later. Blake had told Luna last time she had seen her she was walking outside with someone and so Luna and Harry were set on finding her to tell her about the assignment she had missed.

"Do you think she's out here with Goldstein?" Harry grinned.

"Only if the nargles are with her, if not she's with someone else."

Harry looked at her, confusion etched in his features when he stopped cold at where Luna was pointing at. "Ah, there she is. Just there. Do you see her? With Draco Malfoy?" she said as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

The blonde smiled dreamily at the two. "They do look quite adorable together don't they?"

Harry was furious. "Have you gone mad! Of course they don't! That's Malfoy. MALFOY!" he yelled a little louder, hoping she would understand.

"I'm quite aware of who that is Harry. I said his name just now, remember?" her dazed eyes wandered around. And all these years people were calling _her_ the looney one. Rubbish.

Luna hadn't noticed she was talking to herself until she saw Harry marching towards the lake. "Can't imagine that would end well." She said to herself as Hermione approached.

"Why weren't you in class?" Harry hissed, his green eyes locked with her own from beneath his round glasses. Silver stumbled backwards, shocked at Harry's reaction. She had never seen him so affronted.

"Oh did we miss class?" she scurried off to her feet. "I had no idea."

Draco's pleasant face quickly shifted to a sneer and narrowed eyes. "Thanks for letting us know Potter." He said snidely.

"I wasn't talking to you _Malfoy." _Harry advanced towards him.

Silver felt terrible, stuck in the middle of the feud. And even worse because she was almost certain she was the cause for the spat. "Thank you Harry. I'll meet you in the library later so you can help me with the notes. Alright?" she attempted to intervene.

Harry shook his head. "Ask someone else." His eyes still set on the sneering blonde.

"Don't be stupid Potter, not that you can help it. She was just helping me with something I missed." Draco stood up behind the girl to defend her.

This only angered Harry more and he sent a spiteful glare at Malfoy before he walked off towards a disapproving Hermione and diverted Luna.

"Harry how could you-" Hermione began to preach when Harry cut her off.

"How could I what? She's obviously up to no good if she's with Malfoy."

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, "She's our _friend._ Honestly Harry! What's gotten into you? You sound just as bad as he does! He's never done anything to her. Why should she hate him?" the words even came as a surprise for her. She'd never imagined the day that she would be defending Draco Malfoy. Well really she was mostly standing up for Silver, which was with him – but he was part of the package.

Luna disregarded their squabble and stared back at her disheveled friend which was staring pleadingly at her, searching for an answer. A knowing smile crossed her small pink lips and she dashed over to grab her.

"Hullo you two." Luna beamed brightly. "Would you mind if I borrow Silver please? It's something about the wifflebies. Oh how marvelous they are!"

Draco creased his brows, terribly confused, but Silver understood perfectly. She turned on her heel and quickly bid him goodbye before she strode off with the bemused blonde.

"They seem to really be working." Luna began to mumble to herself.

"What are you talking about Luna?" Silver asked, still a bit distraught.

"It's exactly what they've thought since the beginning." She continued

"Who thought what?"

"Why, the wifflebies, of course."

"Yes. Well what about them?"

"What about what?" Luna still seemed preoccupied with other thoughts.

"The wifflebies. Luna. What you just told me about."

"Ah! Yes. They are hard at work, they are. Just like I said."

Silver decided to put it to rest. Obviously this conversation wasn't going anywhere.

By the time the two girls had walked to the Great Hall for lunch they had already been hounded by Savannah and Lucinda.

"But we saw you Silver! You were there. With Malfoy!" Savanah frowned.

"I was, but he just needed some homework, of course, you know Malfoy."

"Yes I do and I know that he's a closeted genius. So there is no reason why he would need your help with homework!" Savannah wailed.

"Oh,really? Well I have no idea then. I suppose he was just feeling a bit lazy then." Silver shrugged.

Savannah was not amused and certainly unconvinced. She tried probing Luna for answers later, but she naturally wouldn't budge. Probably because she really had no idea what she was talking about.

After lunch, her classes droned on forever. There were two things that were solely occupying her mind at the moment, Draco and Harry. The belligerent anger in Harry's face wouldn't let her concentrate for the rest of the day. She knew she had done nothing wrong, that much she was sure of. So why was he so extremely cross? And then her musings would drift off to Draco, a small smile replacing the frown on her pale lips. She was longing for Muggle Studies to be over, which she had with the rest of the Ravenclaws, but the clock seemed to be frozen – _class dismissed_ seemed so far away.

She was abruptly interrupted from her thoughts when a strong arm nudged hers. Anthony looked at her vaguely worried, raising his shoulders and bringing his eyebrows together; asking a silent question of concern. She smiled weakly and mouthed, _tired_. The answer seemed to please him, because he didn't bother to push the matter any further after class.

"Another paper! That makes three now doesn't it? Three papers due before next class? On muggles." Anthony groaned.

"Muggles are actually very interesting Anthony. So interesting in fact, I think I might need to get a head start, right now. See you at dinner!" she called out behind her seeing as she had already begun walking away from him.

She went up a set of long spiral staircases, not quite sure in which part of the castle she was in, until she reached a long arched window. The rain seemed like hail pelting into the window. She quickly past it, terrified of the violent weather. A hint of disappointment trailed over her features, she was hoping to make it to the owlery to give Hermes her letter for Lucy and Rupert.

"Alright mate, I'll see you in a bit." Draco tapped Blaise on the shoulder and went down a set of spiraling staircases. He pushed his messy hair out of the way – it always seemed to find its ways to the middle of his nose, remembering that was the precise reason he would always gel it back. He accomplished the small task, successfully finding a place for the stray strands when he noticed a girl staring down at a piece of parchment at the landing of the staircase. He stood at the stairs for a second, maybe a minute, to look her over.

Her long dark hair trailed down her thin back, but it gracefully swooped to the side when she directed her gaze towards the wall in front of her. Her profile was a dim shadow in the poor lighting but her familiar green eyes were as bright as ever. He had always found her eyes comforting, they radiated a comforting sort of happiness, a soft of hope you couldn't help but feel when you caught a glimpse of them.

He had been staring for so long he hadn't noticed she was already fully aware his presence, placing him under a microscope as well.

"Has Potter still got his knickers in a bunch?" Draco was the first to slice through the silence.

A small chuckle escaped her lips, and he couldn't help but imagine how soft, and – but he stopped just as she began to speak.

"I don't know what's gotten into him. And unfortunately yes, yes he does."

He finished sauntering down the steps and stood directly in front of her. "He's too _noble_ to stay cross for much longer." He hoped that would comfort her. "You haven't done anything wrong. It's me he hates."

"Why?" she wondered in a small voice.

He looked surprised at her question and turned towards the window, wrinkling his pointed face in thought. She secretly thanked the unsettling darkness for the view in front of her, it fitted him well. His eyes looked almost translucent and you could barely notice the difference between his pale skin and hair, the dark had an agreeable way of highlighting his pointed features.

"I like your hair that way." She thought aloud. "Er…um I mean it's not gelled into an eggshell like usual." She stuttered horribly, finding a way to ease the bluntness of her compliment.

His pale cheeks had a tint of red when his lips curled into a smirk. "Potter and I have quite a history," he began answering her previous question, "But I think I've had my fill of confessions for today."

He heard a squeal from beneath him and just then a white light filled the room and the loud rumble of thunder echoed throughout the room.

"Don't tell me you're still scared of thunderstorms." He teased.

"Very funny Malfoy. You don't just get rid of a fear in the snap of a finger you know."

He smiled in a very charming way. "Who are you going to cuddle up to here? Mother isn't here to let you crawl into her bed."

She laughed thinking back to the times when she would wander off to Narcissa's room for condolence. "I can make it through the night myself thank you."

"I somehow doubt that highly."

"Jerk." And she jumped again as another roar of thunder hit.

"Point taken."

He was right, but she wasn't about to let him in on that little secret.

"Well I promised I would meet Luna back in time for dinner."

"Right. Yes I should be going off too."

"I'll see you later then." She grinned.

"If you don't faint first." His lips stretched into a crooked grin.

The great hall was nearly full when Silver found her friends sitting. Luna had seem to forgotten what had happened that afternoon and was going on in a lively conversation with Blake and Dominic when Silver joined in.

They all began to gorge down their meals when Luna began to speak quietly. "Are you coming to DA tonight? Harry's making them every night now since he got banned from Quidditch."

Silver hadn't really thought it over, but really saw no harm in it at the moment. It might've have been due to the carefree state of bliss she was presently in – but she agreed to go with her tonight as well.

* * *

_Thank you for reading! Pretty long chapter but I hope you guys enjoyed every minute of it :)  
Please, please REVIEW!!!_

_I promise a preview of the next chapter to every reviewer!_


	19. Just a bit of prejudice

_Don't hate me! I'm so sorry I took so long to update!  
The past two weeks had been hectic and I barely had any time to even think about what I wanted for this chapter.  
But i finally did and I hope you all like it :)_

_Just a few things to clear up - Thank you DayDreamBabyBee for bringing it up!  
Silver was originally younger than Harry, but I changed my mind and forgot to post up a little note for all of you to read. She is now the first born to the Lily and James, I thought it would work out better that way for the story.  
And one last thing from last chapter I forgot to mention. Draco's deatheater situation doesn't really come into play in the story, at least for what I have planned now.  
I know that he starts struggling with this during their sixth year so I don't really want to emphasize it on here, being as our setting is their fifth year at school. I just used the letter as more of a way for them to finally reconcile, for now at least._

_Thank you so much to my reviewers and everyone who put my story on alert! You're all amazing! :)  
and now onwards!_

* * *

_ **Just a bit of prejudice.**_

* * *

Their lessons in the room of requirements every night were becoming as routine as if it were another class on their schedule. Luna and Silver snuck off again. Cho had gone on ahead of them a few minutes before with Michael Corner. But this time felt a lot more nervewrecking for Silver, after what had happened with Draco Malfoy that afternoon, she wasn't all that sure of Harry's reaction when he saw her. Once they'd arrived, Harry hadn't come to greet them warmly as he usually did, he merely glanced at them through the corner of his eye and went back to teaching Neville an incantation. Hermione and Ron had already made their way to Silver and Luna when Hermione noticed Silver's unsure expression.

"I don't think he wants me here Hermione." Silver whispered in a sort of ashamed tone.

Her words shocked the bushy haired girl and she shook her head contemptuously. "Harry can be….ridiculous sometimes. He's quick to jump to conclusions, always has been." She frowned. "If you don't mind me asking - why were you with Malfoy…?"

Silver looked up at her through her bangs and brushed them out of the way. "I've known him since I was a baby. He's a family friend."

Hermione didn't push the subject any further, simply just pursed her lips together as if she had smelt something unpleasant. Ron interrupted before Hermione had a chance to ask anything else and playfully ruffled Silver's hair. Ginny sprinted over to Silver and clapped her hands together in excitement. "Hello!"

She reciprocated her enthusiasm and hugged her hello. "Have you guys been here for long now?"

"About half hour." A voice spoke as Ginny moved her lips, but it wasn't her own. Harry stood beside Hermione and looked at her sheepishly. "I can catch you up… if you want."

"Sure." Silver nodded hesitantly. He couldn't be as upset as to put some sort of spell on her could he?

He led her away from his friends and began to fidget with his wand. It took him several minutes before he seemed to have found the words to speak. "I shouldn't have said that to you today. It really was out of line… I mean who am I to say who you can talk to or not right?" He said quickly.

Harry felt somewhat protective of the new girl. He hadn't a clue as to why, but seeing her with Malfoy today infuriated him – not from jealousy but in a more cordial way, almost paternal. There was just something about her that seemed vaguely familiar - almost as if he had seen her once before. But he might just be going mad. After all his life was in the gutter with him being kicked out of Quidditch and all.

"Thanks Harry." A swell of relief washed over her. Her conscience had been eating her alive since the incident and she couldn't bear having one of her friends upset with her even it if was for a reason she was completely unaware of. "I know Draco doesn't have a wholesome reputation here. But I assure you he's really not _that_ bad. I've known him for some time – since I was very young. And he's never done anything terrible." She smiled reassuringly.

He smirked and pat her on the arm. "Alright then. I don't agree," he laughed humorlessly, "but I think if anyone had a handle on Malfoy then, must be you. What do you say we start then?"

She pulled her want out of her robe and swooshed it in the air. "You're an excellent teacher, really you are."

He chuckled a bit and she continued. "Even Ginny seems to thinks so."

He became a ball of nerves as he glanced over at the red head.. "I-I…Err… magic. Right, magic. Let's begin shall we?"

Harry was discussing the history of the counter spell he was about to reproduce when someone wailed in pain. Silver, along with the rest of the students, whipped their heads in her direction to see Cho sprawled on the ground in agony. Dean Thomas was hovering over her, his arms in the air repeating apology after apology. Harry ran over to them and fell on the floor beside her.

"Dean what happened?" Harry demanded.

"I don't know Harry. I was just practicing Expelliarmus and she fell solid on the floor!" his voice quavered along with his long thin hands.

"Alright I'll take care of it. Lesson is cut short for today everyone we'll continue where we left off tomorrow." Harry cradled her head, lifting it off the hard floor.

Dean walked off ahead of everyone when Ginny stopped him. "Dean you didn't do anything. I'm sure of it. How could someone get hurt from a basic expelliarmus?"

Dean shook his head without a clear answer for the probing red head before him. Silver was nearly behind her when Ginny suddenly turned around to glare at the fallen Ravenclaw.

"Gin.." Silver began, prepared for an evening of consolation. Hermione also seemed to have braced herself seeing as she was beside Ginny as well. "It's nothing she must be faking it." Hermione said as she narrowed her eyes towards the direction Ginny couldn't seem to take her eyes off.

Ginny shrugged in dismal. "Doesn't matter." She muttered before she walked off into the dark halls of the castle.

"Ginny Weasley I demand you stop this and talk to me." Hermione followed her into the fourth year's dormitories, decided she wasn't sleeping tonight until she had an explanation from her dear friend.

"Hermione I told you there's nothing wrong. I wouldn't care less if that _girl_ and Harry got _married_ and had ten children. Really he doesn't mean anything to me anymore. I was young and foolish."

Hermione certainly didn't look convinced and plopped down on the end of her four poster bed, arms crossed. "And by young and foolish you mean two days ago? Do you want me to talk to him?"

Ginny looked as if she had been struck by lightning. "What? NO!" she gasped in terror when a girl shushed her from across the dormitory.

"Well then, I suppose you care just about the right amount then." Hermione said her chin raised, she loved the accomplishment she received from being right.

Ginny rolled her eyes and pulled her covers over her face. "We'll talk to tomorrow Granger. Go to sleep."

Hermione smiled softly and bid her a goodnight, making her promise this conversation would ensue the day after.

The morning sun dawned on the shaded windows of Hogwarts and beckoned a wakeup call to its slumbering inhabitants. Silver was already showering at about the time Luna and the rest stirred awake. She couldn't stop dreaming about her reconciliation with Draco and an exciting surge of butterflies in her stomach didn't allow her to sleep for most of the night.

Luna stirred awake when Blake shrieked. "Where's Silver?" Blake was standing in the middle of the room searching every corner of the space. "She was here last night, I'm sure she was!"

Padma, still a bit groggy, slipped on her prefect badge. "Let me just go get Anthony and we'll go off to find –"

Just then the bathroom door swung open and the girl they had so frantically been searching for was fully dressed and muttered a quick ,_good morning!_", before she walked out the door and down the stairs to the common room.

The girls were left rooted in their spot dumbfounded when Savannah rapped lightly on their door. "Is Silver actually _early_?" Blake nodded. "Ha. Well that's something isn't it." Savannah said, continuing over to the outside of the boy's door to meet her boyfriend Terry.

The Slytherins had been in quidditch practice since 5 a.m. this morning. The season was coming to an end and all of the teams were practicing rigorously, twice even three times a day. Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini were talking in their usual table in the great hall when Draco took a seat across from them after he had gone up to their common room to freshen up. Blaise hadn't stopped going on about what had happened with Silver the other afternoon.

"I would've done a slight bit of damage if it hadn't been for Goldstein and Dates." Blaise's words were bitter and spiteful. "Isn't that right Malfoy?"

Draco picked up a sausage, desperately famished from practice. "Her father's in Azkaban mate. It's rough - lighten up a bit."

"There's no problem with her father Malfoy. He's a martyr for his imprisonment. He believes what the Dark lord fights for but if his daughter had the same loyalty, same potential –" Blaise didn't finish the sentence. "She's not one of us mate."

Draco looked up at him and met his eyes momentarily. After his much needed venting session with Silver yesterday, he would've very much indulged in slapping his friend to his senses. "So if she's not one of us I suppose she's an owl of some sort. Right, well I'm going off to class. I want to arrive before the owl does, after all, I'm sure you know how loud they can be at times." Draco couldn't have been said it more sarcastically if he had tried.

Silver and Blake fumbled into Potions, late. Professor Snape eyed them clearly bothered, his hooked nose like an arrow pointed in their specific direction when he began to speak. "Today we will be brewing a shrinking potion, a relatively simple potion compared to your level but it is in the text and we must abide by it," he played with the edges of his book which he was now holding in front of him in disgust, "I will not tolerate any mishaps – this should come easy for all of you." He proceeded to jotting down the list of materials they would need for the assignment, murmuring something under his breath.

Silver had just finished settling into her seat and pulled out her quill, prepared to take note of the directions. "Right so we need snake fangs and two horned slugs." She looked over at the shelf of supplies in the front of the classroom.

"Three porcupine quills and 2 grams of nettles." Draco finished; she looked at him with a raised brow and smiled. "I'll get it, you can get the cauldrons ready." Draco smirked as he brushed past her to make his way to the crowd of students also gathering ingredients.

Ron and Harry kept their eyes peeled on Malfoy as he stood a couple of feet behind them, waiting his turn. Silver had their cauldrons set on their desk and began to crush the snake fangs as soon as Draco had returned.

The class grew quiet after a few more minutes of stirring and crushing. Draco and Silver were beginning to place the ingredients into their cauldron. "Want to meet at the library?" Draco whispered when they were both lingering above the black pot.

Silver looked up from the bubbling elixir and met his grey eyes. "After classes?" She felt a knot in her stomach, similar to the sensation she was feeling that morning – just amplified.

His lips curled into his signature smirk as he nodded. A small blush crept on her cheeks before she jerked her head away, agreed, and went back to her assignment.

* * *

There it is! I hope you all loved it! :)  
So library? Might that be Draco's way of asking her on a date? or might it just be a friendly invitation?

And I'm curious if you guys are liking how I'm going back and forth trying to incorporate both Draco and Silver's feelings into the chapter.  
And a preview of the next chapter to anyone who reviews!!

So please please please review!!!! I love reading reviews, they make me really happy and I'm sure you all want to make me smile right? :)


	20. Mistaken for someone else

_Thank you so much to my loyal reviewers and my new ones! And for putting my story on alert :)_

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**Mistaken for someone else**

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_ "And even when darkness awaits you, I'll be there, to be your light."  
Michelle Branch _

_--_

"And you know what he said?" Silver was nearing the end of her story when Draco gasped falsely, pretending he hadn't been standing beside her when this happened. "What?"

"He told me I was right!" She spoke a little too loudly for the library. "I corrected him and he said I was right." She mused in excitement. "I couldn't believe it myself if it wasn't because I was there!"

Draco laughed. "I suppose you feel like you've made quite an accomplishment don't you?"

She threw her hands over her chest and nodded. "But of course, I have. Seldom does Snape praise any student who isn't Slytherin. You're probably wrong half the time but being who you are, he just lets you get away with it." She grinned teasingly before her lips twisted into a frown. "But he's the least of our worries now. Umbridge is…a dictator."

Draco fidgeted in his seat and turned a page in his book before he slammed it shut. "I think I'm just about done here. Have you had your fill yet?"

His lack of responsiveness on the subject worried Silver, she was very familiar with the Draco she'd left behind five years ago. But this new one, she still felt a stranger to at times, and it worried her beyond grief. She decided it was of better interest to just not question it, at least for now.

She collected her things and walked past the circulation desk and towards the exit of the library with him. Strange it was how empty the library seemed to be, it obviously wasn't the place to _be _but there were usually far more students apart from just barely a handful. They made their way down two sets of staircases and down a long winding corridor when they reached the entrance hall which was now stuffed with students from every year and house gathering to watch Argus Filch hang up another frame with yet another rule. _I suppose this is why_, she thought to herself, answering her wanderings about the barren book haven.

She looked up at the collection of gold frames which were now growing by the hour and a sort of drowning feeling surrounded her senses. Shoving her way through the crowd, Draco following behind, she stumbled across Luna and Blake whom steadied her when she nearly tripped over someone's shoe. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were mumbling to one another with the rest of the Weasley clan.

"Honestly…This is just absurd." Hermione murmured just within the hearing range of the small group around her.

Luna stared up at the brimming wall confounded.

"It feels like Hogwarts has been put under siege." Silver shook her head.

Ginny was surprised to see Silver behind her, she wasn't aware of when she had entered. "I'm surprised we can still breathe." she sighed.

"Violation! You're expelled!" The Weasley twins pointed at her, easing the tense atmosphere for a mere second.

Farther behind a few Slytherins were huddled together. "Inquisitorial Squad eh?" Blaise nudged Draco in the arm as he read the neat script on the newest addition to the wall of restrictions. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Uh yeah, not bad." Draco wasn't paying attention, he was too busy looking for the girl he had just lost amidst the overwhelming gathering of students. Had the whole school turned up just to see Filch hang a picture frame?

"I say we sign up. Getting extra credit for busting other students? Brilliant." Pansy Parkinson agreed. "These are the things I live for!"

Millicent shrugged indifferently, "I have enough to do with my studies."

Blaise ignored her. "All right then. I say we go straight to her office." He offered as he began to make his way out into the clearing. Pansy waddled suit whilst Millicent watched after them disapprovingly. "C'mon Malfoy." He called out behind him stirring Draco awake from his thoughts and went walking after them.

Dolores Umbridge organized the pencils in her very pink office in impeccable size order. The mewling of her cats in small ornate plates was like orchestra music to her impeccable ears. She was bathing in the victory of her new restrictions when there was a knock in the door. She set her teacup down, careful not to spill, and chimed "Come in."

Blaise walked in, Pansy shortly after him. "We're interested in the Inquisitorial Squad Profesor." Pansy said aristocratically.

The primp lady shot a scrutinizing glance at the dark figures in her pink office. "Professor Umbridge my dear. You must always refer to me by my entire name," she reprimanded before a sudden jolt of joy overcame her, "And Marvaleous! Sit please."

They did as they were told, revealing the last boy as he pushed the door closed behind him. The stout woman gasped at the sight of him, bringing a gloved hand to her mouth.

"Why, ." She squealed. "Yes, yes." She seemed to be talking to herself. "Lucius Malfoy's son. Such a charming man he is despite the er- circumstances." Referring to his involvement with he-who-shall-not-be-named, "Glad that's over!"

He wasn't quite sure how to react. He had never really witnessed anyone referring to his father as a charming man; She went on. "How pleased I am to see you. I hear you have quite an influence here at Hogwarts-"

"Right he does Professor Umbridge -" Blaise butted in, his excitement rivaling hers.

She stared at the boy who had interrupted her speech and smiled in such a way that made Draco cringe internally. "It is very rude to interrupt my dear boy." And she then continued to adressing the boy of her undeniable interest. "Very glad to see you're interested in becoming an illustrious member of _my_ Inquistorial squad." She clasped her hands together on the desk before her obviously feeling dignified for her voice was quite haughty.

The cats purred at her obvious exuberance. She began to drone on about their job assignments and about what a good deed they were doing, cooperating with the ministry to finally put Hogwart's on the right track to success. "Your duties are effective immediately." She ordered. "Just sign this would you darlings?"

Pansy and Blaise almost quarreled over who would sign first, Blaise won. Professor Umbridge beamed as she jerked her fluffy pen out of Pansy's grip and lanced it over at Draco. "Go on" Blaise urged, watching his moment of hesitation. He took the pen. She was becoming restless and scrimmaged through her drawers for something. She smirked triumphantly as she pulled out a gleaming yet small badge. Blaise looked hungry. She noticed.

"Yes its nice isn't it?" she wiped it clean with a mauve handkerchief. "Almost makes you feel like a prefect doesn't it? Oh but of course you wouldn't need this would you? After all you already have that honor." Her grin was far from good natured. Pansy was about to protest, after all she was prefect too, but was stopped when Blaise lifted his hand. She began to walk around Pansy and Blaise, carefully placing the golden trinket on each of their robes when she finally approached Draco. "Power, my dears, you can never have too much of it I daresay.

Think of it this way. You'd simply be getting extra credit for what you've already been assigned to do. And- Well, I'm sure your father would be very disappointed to hear of your reluctance to join."

That night at D.A. everyone seemed to be advancing nicely.

"That's right Neville. Just nudge your wrist slightly, like this." Harry began as he moved around the room quickly. "Wonderful Ginny! You're a natural." She blushed fiercely.

"Accio!" Silver chanted pulling Ron's wand straight out of his hand and over to her.

"Luna, stay focused please." Harry moved along to her side and pat her on the arm before joining Ron and Silver. "Excellent Silver. Ron, you should be worried."

Ron frowned. "But – But Harry –"

"Oh stop being a baby." Silver laughed. Go on, retrieve what's rightfully yours." She placed the wooden instrument in front of her and felt it violently slip from her grip as Ron chanted the charm. She congratulated him eagerly.

Cho wasn't as talkative as she usually was. She kept to herself in the corner, Harry went up to her several times to see what was the matter, but she would just tell him she wasn't getting much sleep lately. Ginny kept a jealous eye on them the rest of the night, but found subtle comfort in the company of Michael Corner.

Luna, Cho, Silver, and the most recent addition to Dumbledore's army, Michael Corner, slipped down the halls after Harry ended their lesson for the night and ran to their common room while the others dispersed into theirs.

They were nearly there when a cloaked figure approached the group. Silver's heart sank in fear. This was it – expulsion. "Run!" she heard Cho and Michael yell then the scrambling of their feet against the stone ground behind her. She seemed to have lost the feeling in her legs for when the figure began to approach her, she couldn't find the stregnth to move. Getting closer, the creature hovered over her, almost as if it were observing it's victim before it would unleash it's horror. She was sure her heart had fallen out of her chest and she'd lost the color on her skin. Her breathing was unsteady, almost gasps for air when she felt it's icy hands grab her violently by the wrist.

She felt like a mute, her mouth was moving but nothing managed to come out when she began to feel cold. A strange icy feeling crept from within her head and downwards until it reached her chest. She began to think her senses were working against her as they were coming in and out, blurred. Her mind was growing fuzzy and she felt a sharp tug pulling her thoughts, her memories. A feeling of helplessness overtook her and the idea of this being Argus Filch and expulsion was completely erased. She heard a deep dull voice speak through the hood of his cloak, but there were two voices – coming from just one figure. When she realized there were in fact, two – or was her vision slurring?

She felt empty, her knees weakened and just when she was about to crash into the ground the newest shadow grabbed her around the waist, hoisting her off the ground. He was shaking, his heart beating rapidly under his strong chest. The voice above her hissed dangerously, but despite it – she felt somewhat safe in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she caught sight of her blonde knight as he seemed to be arguing with the cloaked stranger. A spark of green light illuminated the corridor and she felt the boy wrap his arms tighter around her body and pull her closer to him as he ran down the dimming halls. When she was in a far enough distance she slowly began to feel somewhat normal again. But she couldn't help feel like something was missing.

"What happened?" she demanded weakly. He was still running, his head whipping backwards every now and then to make sure there weren't any followers.

"You're alright?" Draco set her down gently but kept his arms close to her sides, just in case.

She looked at him strangely, trying her hardest to remember who he was. He was wrinkled in worry as he looked at her face as if he was searching for something. "Silver?" he breathed, his deep voice pitchy, "Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Silver..," She said to herself, "That's my name isn't it? Oh how exciting!" She looked like a three year old who had just been granted a candy store all to herself. "..and you are?"

He paled, more than he already was. "Draco – Draco Malfoy." He grabbed her shoulders gently, "Don't worry this should wear off soon." He heaved, genuine worry on this poor strangers' unfamiliar face, as it was to her at least.

"You're very kind. I wish I knew you." She grinned but almost instantly, like a severe mood change, her face became sullen and panicked. "What happened?" she asked with sudden angst. She began digging through her mind to remember something, anything. And after a moment's time it actually worked.

-

_"Silver! are you ok?!", Draco ran to his best mate's side as she was sent hurtling towards the floor in pain. He grabbed onto her shoulders and carefully placed her head on his lap. He studied her pain stricken face as he softly took one of her hands in his and left his free hand under her head._

_"Come back to me mate," he begged._

_She squeezed his hand tightly in response. He moved his hand from her head to move a few stray hairs from her face, he wanted so badly to take her pain away - but settled for just holding her until it ceased._

_She had accidently stumbled into a feud between two death eaters and ended up somewhere in between a cruciatius curse. She had only been under the spell for a mere 2 seconds, but her pain was unbearable._

_Silver clutched on to Draco's shirt as she cried uncontrollably, she had never felt so much torture in her entire life. Draco softly pulled her into an embrace, in response she put her arms around his waist as she dug her face into his chest. He waited patiently, and stroked her hair anddown her back to comfort her._

_-_

She looked up at him as if she had just discovered something amazing when a sharp pain pounded around her head and more and more visions like this one filled her head. It was overwhelming in the beginning but after a few minutes she was feeling herself again. She hadn't noticed that during this she had been clutching on to Draco's robes, digging her head into his chest in an effort to lessen the searing pulsation.

"You alright?" Draco said anxiously. She nodded, still squeezed onto him and then said in a far calmer tone than his, "I hear something."

Hushed voices echoed through the halls. "It was over here Professor Dumbledore." Professor Snape's monotone accompanied the footsteps headed in their direction.

"C'mon." Draco pulled away from her and grabbed her hand leading her into the closest classroom. "Alohamora." He whispered as he jostled his wand at the doorknob, unlocking it.

"This is another one of your false accusations," Professor Umbridge's high pitched voice was heard through the other side of the door, "There are no dementors within the castle. They are absolutely forbidden from entering the school grounds as I have feverishly explained to you in the past."

"Yes Professor Umbridge but we have already accomplished that the dementors are no longer being controlled by the ministry." His voice seemed tired, his spirits dampened.

Their conversations ensued outside, Draco and Silver were both pressed against the door waiting for their voices to subside.

The classroom smelled strongly of onions and rotten fish. There were cobwebs in almost every corner and under various desks, extending towards the floor. The less than tolerable conditions were a sign that this room clearly hadn't been utilized in quite some time. "We're stuck in here aren't we?" Silver murmured under her breath.

"Merlin am I _that_ terrible?" Draco teased.

She laughed lightly. "No..you're worse."

He smirked playfully. "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment Draco." She said giving him a look and slid down the wooden door to sit comfortably on the floor, still feeling a bit weary. "Might as well wait in style."

He tipped his head to the side. "Ah at least you recognize me now." He breathed in relief. "And _style_ would be defined as sitting on the hard dirty floor? Right. That makes sense."

"Of course I know you. And yes, so much sense, that you're doing the exact same thing?" she reciprocated.

"Crouch, it must've been ." It was McGonagall this time imploring her discovery to the Headmaster.

Silver frowned. "Did you hear that?" She felt her stomach drop. "Why?"

"It'd be ridiculous to say the dementors were….confused.." Professor Mcgonagall said, but the way she said it stated the contrary, "…foolish."

"Confused?" Silver was clinging on to her every word, the side of her face flattened against the wooden door.

"But there hasn't been another attack on _him_ since Minerva…" Professor Dumbledore's voice seemed to grow faint until it disappeared completely.

"What do they mean by confused?" her gaze stayed locked on the door but Draco's guess was she wasn't asking the knob.

"I don't know." He answered sincerely. He was somewhat aware of Lord Voldermort's plans to capture Harry Potter, at least the bit of the dementors. But why they were after Silver was beyond him. And quite frankly he didn't like it.

After a long thoughtful pause, she spoke. "Well – Thank you…Draco." She said, suddenly feeling shy.

Draco simply nodded but she could've sworn his lips twitching upwards in a slight smile.

"Your welcome would be the appropriate thing to say."

His face flushed. "I don't think so." He was glad the classroom was pitch black because he wasn't used to this blushing nonsense. "You're just lucky I was monitoring the halls at the same precise moment."

She hadn't thought of it and frowned. "And if you weren't? What would've happened…" she trailed off suddenly, her nerves taut. She was fortunate this time, but what if she's caught travelling alone one day? She felt nauseous.

He felt horrible for bringing it up. "Nothing's going to happen." He stopped her before she drove herself mad with worry. He wasn't good at 'comforting' people but decided to give it a go, placing his arm around her shoulders.

She almost laughed. "You know, this would be a lot more serious if it weren't for your attempts.." She looked at his arm behind her and then at him, whom was suddenly feeling _nervous_, something Draco Malfoy isn't accustomed to feeling – especially not around a girl. He had his fair share of girls, Slytherin girls, but they were girls nonetheless. And most of those Slytherin girls were the envy of every girl in the school, and to a boy – the object of their desires. He was suave, cool, charming, any other synonyms that can be connected to the word; but nervous certainly wasn't one of them.

"Im trying here." he said squirming his arm around to get it off her, not expecting her to hold it down in place.

Her teasing had barely, if any truth at all. The truth was, she felt very safe with him, although she wouldn't admit it aloud. Because that would make things awkward, wouldn't it? They were just _friends_ after all and he probably wasn't struggling with the same feelings she had been in combat with since the day of their reconciliation.

"Practice makes perfect." She winked for good measure. But her sudden actions surprised even her when she felt a jolt of electricity resonate in the spot where his arm was draped around her, dauntingly similar to the same fizzle Draco felt when she had decided to tilt her head against him and fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

It was rather fortunate that the morning after was a Saturday, because they remained slumbering in that classroom for the better part of the morning.

Lunch was nearly over when they had finally succumbed to the consequences of reality that awaited them after spending the night out of their dormitory. Pansy had her lips pursed, as if she had just bitten into a lemon when Draco caught up to his friends at the Great hall.

"Really Malfoy where were you all of last night? I couldn't find you when patrol ended and Blaise said you never returned to your dormitory!" she shrieked above the noise of the room.

He went on to buttering a slice of toast calmly, trying to ignore her wails, which proved to be impossible as she daringly took the knife from him. "Relax Parkinson – I was nodding off all night. I was tired. And fell asleep on a bench somewhere on the sixth floor.

Now if you don't mind I think my stomach is about to digest itself." And with that he took _her_ knife and continued where he had left off. He looked up at the sudden commotion coming from the Ravenclaw table. It seemed that Silver was amidst an interrogation as well. Goldstein seemed very upset beside her, and Draco victoriously basked in the glory of his ailment - knowing he was responsible for it. Blake Trench seemed to be preaching or something rather and Lovegood was simply staring off into a wall, per usual.

Silver's face wasn't well at disguising the frustration she was feeling. He couldn't stop staring at her. She looked, well, adorable when she was upset. His orbs almost popped out of his sockets and his mouth went dry. Did he just? He couldn't have. No, no – certainly not.

She looked over at him for a moment, and her cheeks went crimson. He'd woken to quite a stir when she'd noticed she'd somehow found her way to his chest and had been snuggled there for the entirety of the night. He felt sort of guilty for noticing her position before hand and not finding the slightest interest to remove her in any way. He looked down and smirked, his stomach tightened, in a good way – just as it had done this morning.

He was quite fond of her, that much he was certain, but hard hitting, reliable, fact was the impracticality to pursue the feeling any further. And when his mind was transfixed on an idea, it was forever set in stone.

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A/N: _I really loved this chapter! I'm so proud of it. I think it came out really cute.  
And I hope that you guys love it just as much as I do! So please tell me what you think in a review! :)_

I'm not sure about the previews for each review, it depends on how soon I can get it done. So there isn't a one hundred percent chance you'll be getting one - but I'll try my hardest to make it happen.  
But review anyway!! :) 


	21. Nearly there

_Thank you for all your reviews! They were all lovely :) and very much appreciated.  
_

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Nearly there

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"You've got to be joking!" Silver wasn't at all pleased with what she had just heard.

"Keep it down, he's sure to be around here somewhere." Blake tried to calm her. "But it doesn't seem as forlorn to her as it does to you apparently. After all, She said yes."

"She didn't!" Silver wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold out before she went mad. Has she been that excommunicated from the group to the extremity of her not being informed on something as ground breaking as Ginny getting a boyfriend! Her mouth was open wide enough to fit a quaffle through. Much to the amusement of Dominic, being a Quidditch player and all.

"And with Michael Corner of all people?" she added.

"It was quite…surprising to hear. None of us saw it coming." Luna sat cross legged on the floor, revealing the plaid tights she wore underneath a long skirt. "Things have a funny way of just crawling up from behind you."

"Right. Well I think the three of you should stop meddling in her life and just be happy for her. Splendid idea isn't it Silver?" Dominic made an odd face, tightening his jaw and raising his brows.

"Certainly…not, Dom! This is a matter of great importance." Silver said, decidedly.

And then Blake brought up a issue Silver was desperately trying to avoid. "You would've known earlier you know. We've barely seen you these past couple of weeks."

Her mouth went dry. Was she supposed to say the truth?The forgone truth that she'd been spending the better portion of her time with Draco, raking for a way to fathom their secret affairs; Simply because if she would ever be seen with him around friends, they'd look down on her in disdain and exclude her? No, she could never utter the words. It was more than enough to confess she'd known him from her younger years.

"I..I've been –" she began before Dominic came to her rescue and interrupted. "She's been teaching me a few tricks of the trade on the broomstick, haven't you Silver?" he winked for good measure, "She's quite the chaser on the quidditch field."

She was glad for the save, but she doesn't play Quidditch. Just the thought of it was well, funny. Imagining her trying to dodge and catch balls, flying at racing speeds all the while keeping a steady balance on a broom was just that, something you could only imagine.

"Oh Dominic, you flatter me really you do." Her voice was too saccharine to be normal.

He pat her on the arm. "Oh you, _you_ are too modest."

Silver almost laughed. "Yes, I must admit, I am a tad modest." She pinched her fingers together.

They resembled a side show at a circus. Patting each other more roughly than the last time until she finally pulled him away from the group.

"Quite the chaser, yes, yes, sign her up for the next Quidditch match." She grinned widely and lowered her voice to sound like him.

"Oh alright then I'll just go back and tell them you've been on hot pursuit of Draco Malfoy." He said very nonchalantly.

She gasped and he grinned. "I'm not after him," she whispered quickly, " And hes not after me. We're just..well we haven't- " she almost laughed at her constant struggle for words lately, "we're just friends alright."

"Ah my dear friend, you have got to admit he's haunting you in your dreams isn't he?" Dominic winked playfully.

Silver nearly keeled over. "We aren't discussing this Dominic Dates, end of conversation."

Fred and George Weasley, were lighting a pack of fireworks toward the ceiling of the Gryffindor common room, lighting up the dim room with a wide array of vibrant colors and illusions. A crowd of students gathered around them wooing and cheering when appropriate.

It wasn't long before the twin hellions were so caught up in their engrossing popularity that they lost concentration whilst lighting one, and it headed straight toward Lavender Brown, which was now in blatant pursuit of Fred.

"Aha! Don't let her catch you Fred!" George couldn't control himself, laughing to his heart's content at his brother's ill fortune.

Ginny looked frightened at the sight of Hermione pacing around like she had coals strapped to her feet. She'd occasionally point a finger at her looking as if she were ready to begin, but then she'd bring it down again and pace even harder. Her wild mane was tied into a bun, a few stray strands hanging loosely around her stern face. Ron and Harry seemed accustomed to this. She'd fall into these pacing fits when something was aggravating her, and this time that something was her unnerving frustration with the O. exam ( "They're only _seven_ months away!" she would say).

Hermione was utterly appalled by the little she was learning in class, in complete horror as to the lack of study material she had for the O.W.L's. Ron tried to comfort her, but when it came to her schoolwork she was hopeless.

The only thing that seemed to brighten their spirits was Quidditch, and this was the last match of the term before the Christmas holidays. One side of the pitch was covered in red and gold, fans of Gryffindor no doubt, which seemed to be a lot more popular and crowded than the side in Green and Silver.

Ginny had replaced Harry as the Gryffindor seeker just as Fred and George were replaced. For the first time since his first year at Hogwarts, Harry stood in the stands as a spectator – and he wasn't the least bit thrilled.

"Woo! Ginny!" Silver cheered as she flew right past her hot on the trail of the snitch- which reminded her, she yet had to question her about her new relationship status. "Get that bloody snitch!" Silver began to yell when Dominic pulled her down to her seat.

"Relax, it's just a game." He laughed as she blushed in embarrassment. "I see you've been losing the American in you since you arrived. _Bloody?"_

She smiled sheepishly. "Alright can I say _wicked_ instead then?"

Savannah snuggled closer to Terry and Blake sat a few benches down with Alec Hirsch. Luna stared into the sky, at nothing really. The weather was downright terrible. There hadn't been a clear day in weeks. There was just storm after storm day in and day out.

Draco Malfoy was trailing after Ginny Weasley when he gained speed and easily took the lead. He zoomed past the stadium and up towards the icy hail which in turn, pierced his skin like daggers. The tiny golden ball was flying up with great speed when it suddenly turned around and began to dart downwards again. He lost a bit of his balance on the broomstick when a bolt of lightning struck a few feet away from him and lost sight of the golden ball, when he heard cheers from below him.

"Ginny Weasly had caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins! Gryffindor wins!" he heard Lee Jordan announce.

He passed a hand through his hair in frustration at his own incompetence. He let his entire team down. The cup was nearly in Slytherin's possession, and thanks to today's match, he'd let it slip away. The stands were clearing when he finally found his way back down to the safety of solid ground.

"Way to go Malfoy." One of the members in green jeered behind him as the rest of the Slytherin team followed. Even Crabbe and Goyle eyed him suspiciously before they followed suit.

He slumped in place and clutched his broom tightly, nearly breaking it in half. He was so furious he didn't hear the roar of noise from Gryffindor and its fans simmer down or even take notice of the pitter patter of footsteps in the flooded grass steadily approaching him.

Silver was a bit hesitant to speak at first. She knew he had a short fuse, and it must've definitely been shortened to maximum capacity at the moment. "You alright?" she tilted her head to the side in a strained effort to catch a glimpse of his face. "You were up there for a while."

"We lost." He responded dully.

"It doesn't mean you didn't play a great game."

"Doesn't matter how great they played. _I_ ruined it. It was all up to me to catch the bloody snitch and I didn't." he scoffed.

"It's a game Draco. They'll get over it."

He almost growled. "Right." He turned to walk away but she quickly caught up with him.

She peered over at him. "I'm sorry, I just.." she was trying to keep in step with him, "..don't want to see you upset like this."

He continued to walk as if she hadn't said a word, only because he didn't know how to react to someone's concern.

She'd lost pace with him, nearly about to give up on her efforts when she had a sudden case of déjà vu, "I'm trying here."

"_Im trying here." he said squirming his arm around to get it off her, not expecting her to hold it down in place._

_Her teasing had barely, if any truth at all. The truth was, she felt very safe with him, although she wouldn't admit it aloud. Because that would make things awkward, wouldn't it? They were just __friends__ after all and he probably wasn't struggling with the same feelings she had been in combat with since the day of their reconciliation._

"_Practice makes perfect." She winked for good measure. But her sudden actions surprised even her when she felt a jolt of electricity resonate in the spot where his arm was draped around her, dauntingly similar to the same fizzle Draco felt when she had decided to tilt her head against him and fall asleep in a matter of minutes._

He stopped walking and glanced at her momentarily."You're going to get sick." He grabbed her arm and hurried her into a covered area of the pitch. The dimly lit changing room, full of their uniforms and brooms, was fortunately still open and he led her inside. He then went on to the lockers, rummaging through his designated alcove for his uniform robes. He dusted them off a bit as he walked over to her and placed it around her shoulders.

"Thanks" she mumbled. Her hands touched his when she went to grab the black fabric and pull it tighter around her neck.

The electricity was back, and this time he couldn't find it in him to pretend it wasn't there. Despite his previous promises. He planted his hands on hers, keeping them in place when she made the effort to jerk them away.

"Don't mention it." The smug look on his face had completely disappeared, exposing a more vulnerable expression. He involuntarily found his head lowering until it was at eye level with her. He stepped forward, closing the space between them to to nearly an inch. Her stomach lurched in knots and she felt her heart beating so loudly, she was almost sure it had leaped out of her chest. A faint blush spread on her cheeks which he found so amusing. His fingers gently touched the blush, which deepened on contact.

She lifted her arms cautiously, firmly placing them on his chest and now it was his turn to question where his heart might have wandered off too. The rapid thumping he felt cradled under her thin fingers was a sure sign that she had found it. A set of dimples surfaced at the curl of her lips. "Silver." She felt his hot breath on her face and for a second thought her knees were going to give out. "I-"

"What's going on here?" a high pitched voice echoed through the silent room just before they felt a jolt of static come between them sending them crashing rather violently into opposing walls.

"I'd expect better from you." Professor Umbridge jostled her wand at the blonde boy whom showed no interest in the woman standing before him, since his eyes were still glued on the brunette across from him. The sharp pain in his shoulder was insufferable, but he raised himself to stand and began to make his way to the girl still hunched stiffly against the wall; When a red spark of light cut in front of him.

"A member of my very own Inquisitorial squad. Up to these shenanigans! Oh the world of trouble you will be in when I send a post to your father." She shook her head and pursed her lip, her wand anchored to the right at Silver, as if she was threatening to hurt her if he were to take another step.

"What'd you do to her?!" His voice was steady and cold, more daunting than if he were yelling with all his might. His body towered over the small woman and she jumped back a little, frightened. "Nothing at all! She couldn't take the blow as well as you did is all. "

He growled and feebly attempted to walk over to the unmoving figure once again when the Professor armed herself and put a barrier in between the two. "Very disrespectful Mr. Malfoy. Disobeying my orders. I'm willing to look past this after a few lines. Now come along." He wasn't listening which proved to be making her very upset. "You have broken quite a handful of rules , I think it's in your better judgement if you listened to me this instant."

Silver was beginning to come around slightly, but her head fell back down as quickly as she had lifted it, a slight dizziness overwhelming her. He watched her from behind the translucent blockade in heart wrenching horror and threw his head down in defeat.

"Someone needs to take her to the hospital wing." Draco sneered as best he could, but failed to hide the worry in his voice.

"I'll take care of it dear. Now, on your way. Run along."

He turned to look at Silver from the corner of his eye before he took his leave. He glared at her and she quivered, almost dropping her wand. When she made sure the tall blonde was out of sight she eyed the girl inside "Dementors are such incapable creatures." She said before pointing her wand at her, emitting yet another red spark in her direction and then closed the door securely.

"This should've been taken care of years ago. Another Potter running around unleashing havoc is the last thing this school needs."

----

"Wha -? Luna how'd you get in here?" Ron squealed on a large red couch of the Gryffindor common room.

Luna looked around for a minute, before recognizing that she was the one being addressed. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to stroll around the room.

Hermione was at a desk, jotting down notes from a rather bulky textbook and squirmed in her seat when she saw her. She stared over at Ron which was just as confused as she was. She pushed back her seat and stood quickly, walking over to the blonde. "Luna, do you have our password?"

"No." she responded coyly.

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed together. "Well….how did you get in here then?"

"Not sure."

"Alright…" Hermione glanced at Ron for help.

"Oh right. I was looking for Silver. Have any of you seen her?"

"No, but she certainly wouldn't be in the Gryffindor common room – I can assure you." Hermione said.

Ron's face flustered strangely. "Where could she be? We're all supposed to be in our common rooms. It's well past curfew." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Hey Ron did you - ?" Harry stopped on the second to last step when he caught sight of Luna Lovegood.

"Luna? How did you…." He decided it was probably best not to ask when Hermione and Ron shot him a look.

"Have you seen Silver?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head.

"I haven't seen her since the end of the Quidditch match," Luna frowned, "We're beginning to worry. Filch already caught Blake and Dominic sneaking around when we went to look for her. I ran away – and then….I ended up here."

By this time, Ginny was already rounding a corner to the group – wondering why there was a stray Ravenclaw in their common room. Hermione thought hard back to the afternoon's events. She was one of the last people to leave, Ron had eaten one too many chocolate frogs and had to sit for a while longer and then….Hermione gasped. "Malfoy - she was with Malfoy after the game!"

Anger took human form in Harry Potter as he hustled up to his dormitory, unlocked his trunk and pulled out an item which was well hidden all the way in the bottom, since he nearly removed all of the trunk's contents to reach it. He stormed downstairs and threw the cloak over Hermione and Ron.

"We're going to find Malfoy. Luna, get back to your common room." He instructed his baffled friends.

Luna seemed hesitant, but found no other choice when Ginny grabbed her arm gently and lead her to portrait. "Can I come?" Ginny asked as she watched the blonde skip away.

"No Ginny, stay here." Ron threatened under the cloak. Fred and George stood on opposite side of their sister and watched them disappear.

"I knew Malfoy was behind it. He always is isn't he?" Malfoy always struck a nerve for Harry, bringing the worst out of his temperament.

Hermione and Ron walked silently as Harry continued to mumble under his breath. They approached a landing of the wide staircase and saw Malfoy running downstairs ahead of them. They quickened their pace and Harry slid the cloak off, careful to keep his friends under it.

"Where is she Malfoy?" Harry hissed.

Draco ignored him and continued to walk down the stairs. Harry had trouble catching up with his enemy's long strides but finally reached close enough to pull his shoulder back. "Don't you dare _touch_ me Potter." Malfoy sneered.

"Answer me." Harry said.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the sudden nuisance. He too was on his way to find her when he had ventured over to the Infirmary and saw that no patient by the name of Silver Crouch had been checked in. "Umbridge left her in the Slytherin changing room."

"Why?" Harry asked very suspiciously.

"I don't know _why _Potter." Malfoy was becoming annoyed.

The doors were locked tight. Silver had resorted to using her own body to push against the large, not easily broken, doors when she realized there was no other way to get out of the room. Her wand was nowhere to be found. She didn't even remember whether she had had it with her or not. The side of her arm was throbbing in pain after so many failed attempts at knocking the door open.

"Alohamora." She heard someone chant and then the sound of a lock clicking open.

Hermione Granger burst through the doors, searching the room when she landed on the figure on the floor. She scurried off after her, locking her into a tight embrace looking like an over concerned mother.

"You've been gone for hours!" she scolded.

Silver moaned. "Ouch Hermione that hurts." The girl had been gripping her shoulders a little too roughly. Hermione let go but kept her gaze on her, demanding answers. Harry and Ron sat on opposite sides of her and expressed their worry as well, but unlike Hermione, they were pushing the blame on Malfoy.

"it wasn't his fault Harry." Silver retaliated.

"You just need some time to come around, then you'll realize it was." Harry couldn't have said it better himself, he thought, although he hadn't been the one to say it. Malfoy emerged standing from behind the slumped group, a shot of remorse in his cold eyes.

Silver ignored something Harry said and stood slowly, advancing towards him. He stretched his hands out so she could steady herself. "I should've stayed to make sure you were alright…." He was planning on continuing but stopped when Silver threw her arms around his waist. Hermione gasped, which then Harry and Ron echoed closely behind. Not only did Malfoy return her embrace, which was enough to leave them in a state of disbelief for years, but he began to gently stroke her hair in a way someone (with a human soul) would when they were trying to comfort someone.

* * *

_I'm sorry I couldn't give you all previews :(  
I've been feeling a bit under the weather and work has been hectic. And to top it all off, classes commence tomorrow - which I'm definitely not thrilled about.  
But I'll try to send out an update as soon as I can.  
Things are going to get a lot more interesting from here on in, no dull chapters anytime soon. And they are all leading up to a BIG one, which I already have written out but just need to find some chapters to place in between._

_I hope you guys are enjoying the Silver/Draco connection. I think this chapter was a pretty big milestone with them discovering their feelings for each other.  
Tell me what you think!  
Review, Review, Review!!! :))  
_


	22. Hope for the Hopeless

_Yay for new reviewers! Thank you for finding my story and reading it! And of course a big big thank you to all of my loyal reviewers as well :) You're all so great._

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**Hope for the Hopeless**

* * *

Silver finally found herself in the safety of her common room, after she had managed to get by the riddling doorknob which seemed to be getting more irritating by the minute. Dominic, Blake, and Luna were still up, staring silently into the fireplace when they all jumped at the sound of the door opening. Blake heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin your safe! You had me worried to pieces Silver Crouch, how could you just disappear without speaking a word to either of us?"

Silver walked towards them and begrudgingly decided to sit beside Luna, who seemed to be the one least disconcerted, and leaned her head against her shoulder. "I'm sorry Blake. It wasn't my fault, I wish I could've left you all a note beforehand so you three would've come dashing through the doors just in time to save me from a professor gone mad." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"What?" Dominic and Blake cried in unision. "Who?" This time Dominic's hard voice was the one asking questions.

"Who would you think? Umbridge of course! She's insane! I was just with Draco in the locker room and she just started casting spells on us!" She wasn't fully aware of how much she had let slip until she noticed that Blake's jaw was practically dragging on the wooden floor beneath her.

"With Draco? As in Draco Malfoy?" it seemed as if she was more concern with whom she had been with then with a professor violently trying to hex her. That was certainly a reassuring trait in a friend.

Luna sat Silver up straight and beckoned for her to tell them exactly what had happened. She told them about Draco's and how frustrated she had found him after the game, and then about the the rain – which was an important reason as to why they were discovered in the locker room in the first place, and topped it off with Ron, Harry, Hermione and Draco all freeing her from her temporary prison.

"You mean to say that Potter and his friends were collaborating with Malfoy?" Dominic almost let out a roar of laughter at the thought, but Blake beat him to it.

"You're joking right?" Blake managed to ask as she stopped for air. "That would've been quite a sight I must say."

Luna couldn't help but giggle a bit as well. But she had seen Draco and Silver interacting before, she just hadn't mentioned it to anyone, until now. "Is that why you and Malfoy meet in between classes?" Luna smiled in a sort of daze, but she was well aware of what she was saying.

"Oh." Silver moaned, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. Luna wasn't supposed to mention that, and now Silver was dreading the look that was awaiting her from Blake.

"How could you not tell me Silver?" Instead of criticizing her, like Silver thought she would, Blake seemed upset. Silver turned to face her and could clearly read it on her face.

"You were perfectly clear and how much you loathed him when I met you on the train Blake. I didn't think you would be all that eager to hear about it." Silver earnestly admitted.

"Well you're right about that. I don't like him," She scoffed but then her tone became softer, "But I suppose you can't help it. I knew it right when I met you…" Silver feared the worst to come next. "You like bad boys." Blake burst into laughter, Silver joining her right after.

And then Silver realized just how lucky she was to have found these brilliant people to call her friends.

Harry and the other's weren't quite sure how to react with the unexpected ( and unwanted) turn of events. Silver Crouch and Draco Malfoy were _friends._

"Well she _did_ tell us they knew each other." Hermione began. "Don't you remember Harry? That night at DA? She said they'd known each other since abdolescence.." she trailed off. Although she was ardently trying to stay level headed with the situation at hand, she wasn't quite fond of it.

"It's just not possible!" Ron rubbed his eyes. "Malfoy's a foul dim-witted git, and Silver…isn't!"

"That's…helpful, I suppose." Hermione shook her head and directed her attention on Harry's lack of understanding, "I know you don't like this Harry, neither of us do. Can't we just pretend like this didn't happen and move on? As long as she doesn't start bringing Malfoy along everywhere, I don't see why we have to sacrifice her friendship." She was rather disbelieving of her own words, but Silver had proven to be a faithful friend for the short time she had known her. And now it was her turn to return her loyalty.

It was long past curfew and the Gryffindors, along with the rest of the school, were snug in their beds fast asleep. That is, until Ginny walked down the stairs and into the common room. She noticed her brother who seemed too deep in thought to notice her (a rare thing indeed), then Harry and Hermione with the same flustered expressions.

"What are you still doing up, Ron?" Ginny surprised them. "Did you find Silver?"

Hermione was quite worried that Ginny had listened into their conversation, they'd decided it was best if they kept this between them three. "Yes we did actually; she was in the library studying for Potions." Hermione smiled, "I'm glad I'm rubbing off on her!" she continued to smile.

"I think you shouldn't waste too much of your time down here Ginny," Ron pouted, "not if you want me to take you to Hogsmeade tomorrow morning."

Ginny beamed in excitement, apparently her concern for Silver's health wasn't as strong as she thought because she quickly turned on her heel and zoomed on to her dormitory.

"Are you really?" Hermione questioned incredulously.

"I really have no choice do I? But you're coming with me." Ron looked at her, and she looked at him, both grinning.

"It's just awkward," Harry said solemnly when she was sure out of hearing range, "How can I be at peace with someone who is associating herself with Malfoy? It just isn't in me."

Ron felt somewhat the same way, maybe not as strongly as Harry did, but he certainly didn't like the idea just as much as Harry. "I bet she doesn't know about everything Malfoy's done to us, what he's said to us for the past five years." Ron said bitterly, "If she'd been here, she'd hate him as much as the rest of the school does."

Harry was enlightened. "That's brilliant Ron! We'll have to tell her, of course. We'd be awful friends if we didn't."

"I'd never forgive myself." Ron encouraged.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, whatever it takes for the two of you to just grow up and accept it. Unfortunately it isn't up to us to decide who associates with whom," she shook her head as she spoke, "Trust me if it were, Malfoy would've been locked up in a box alone since the moment he had spoken a word to me."

When classes resumed that Monday, they were sure to tell her every single one of Malfoy's horrors. And she listened to their animated use of language to make him seem like an awful fire breathing dragon that has every intention of bringing misfortune upon all that cross his path, which he most likely was, but not to her he wasn't. And that was all that mattered in her eyes.

November passed as did the earlier days of December along with news of Malfoy and Silver, hence greater problems were beginning to burden Harry, Hermione, and Ron's minds. For one thing, Harry kept having a recurring dream of something attacking , on which it became a reality shortly after, the twins hadn't pranked a single soul for days. And whenever Harry wasn't teaching DA – his mind was occupied with Dumbledore's indifference toward him this year.

The afternoon sky was grey and gloomy, the castle was nearly covered entirely in snow. It was quite a sight. The grass had become a sheer blanket of white and students had begun to bring out their coats and scarves from the bottom of their trunks. It was just a few days before the students were dismissed for Christmas holidays and their usual excitement for a break was intensified with their desire to get away from the disaster that was now Hogwarts. Students weren't allowed to leave the school grounds, chat too long in the same place, eat outside of the great hall, and a load of other ridiculous nonsense – all a part of Umbridge's rein.

"There I hope she sees me!" Ron boasted as he stuffed a chocolate frog his mum had sent him down his throat.

"Ron keep it down. You don't want detention with her. Its torture." Hermione gently touched his hand and moved it away just as fast.

The trio were wrapped tightly in sweaters and scarves, it was extra chilly by the wooden bridge they were walking through. The structure on a far corner of the school was held up above the water by strong wooden beams and the winds that would only come from a lake, or any other body of water, blew by them.

They passed a group of Ravenclaws where a familiar voice surpassed the banter. "I see why you do this so often! It's so much fun!" Silver laughed with Luna as they skipped away from the group together.

Dominic stayed behind with Blake and Anthony. "She's great fun isn't she?" Anthony said to Dominc, who just looked at him strangely.

Luna waved at the trio as they passed right by them, nearly knocking Ron over before he yelled out, "Oy you two come back here a second!"

"Just one second I hope, we are very busy." Silver turned around grinning, dragging Luna along with her.

"What are you two doing for the holidays?" Ron asked, since they were merely a week away.

That was a very good question. Silver hadn't really thought about what would happen for the holidays. Was she supposed to go back to the manor with her new _family?_

"I'm going home. My father has promised me a holiday in Ireland, he said when I spoke to him last. Sounds rather exciting."Luna said watching a bird fly overhead.

"That certainly sounds nice." Hermione nodded. "What about you Silver?"

"I'm not sure really," Silver shrugged, "Haven't really thought about it. I might stay at school."

"Don't your aunts want you home?" Ron frowned.

That was another very good question. "Um, actually I think they sent me an owl a few days ago, yes they did. They're going away, I don't think they told me where though." She was becoming a top notch liar.

"Oh right then. Well if you need somewhere to go you're more than welcome to come to the Burrow with Hermione and Harry here." Ron said as he put his arms around his best friends.

Her heart leaped with joy at the sound of that, it was a lot more comforting than spending Christmas with Lucius Malfoy. "That sounds really great Ron, I'll talk it over with my…aunts." she smiled brightly.

"Oh yes please! Ginny and I are always outnumbered by the boys." Hermione pleaded causing the two boys to look at each other and yell out "Oy!" at the same time.

They walked back towards the school grounds but were blocked off by a student blockade. They pushed their way through enough to see the crowds in a circle around Professor Trewlany. She was trembling nervously with a collection of trunks, that seemed to belong to her, scattered around. A pink figure emerged from the school, a smile painted on her round face.

"You can't do this to me!" the woman with wild hair and magnifying glasses for spectacles spoke, her voice trembling. "Hogwarts is my home!"

Still grinning, Umbridge looked at her dismissively. "But I can dear, by the order of the ministry. You've been sacked." Her voice was calm, placid, and daunting.

Trewlany began to whimper and attempted to defend herself but Umbridge would hear nothing of it. She refused to hear her excuses, not feeling an ounce of guilt for what she was doing to the poor woman. Professor McGonagall had rushed to her side and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

"Something you want to say dear?" The woman in pink asked in a menacing manner.

"Oh, there is plenty I want to say Professor." The cloaked lady responded just as bitter.

Just then a gruff voice boomed across the courtyard. "Minerva, would you please escort Sybil back into Hogwarts."

The small pink lady seemed outraged. "Professor Dumbledore – " She began.

"You can dismiss my faculty, but you cannot force them to leave the grounds. The power remains solely with the Headmaster." He ordered.

He looked around at the peering eyes of the children gathered around them and shooed them away. "Professor Dumbledore!" Harry ran past Silver and Hermione to catch up with the bearded man. His desperate cries were heard from where they had stayed standing.

"I can't wait 'til the holidays." Ron whimpered.

"Honestly. Who does that woman think she is? Trying to go against Dumbledore that way! The nerve." Hermione began to say quickly, nearly incomprehensible, "Where's Harry gone off too?"and with that they disappeared into the crowd after him.

Silver had some concerns of her own that she was in quite a hurry to address. "I'll meet you in a bit." Silver told Dominic and Luna before she scampered off into the school.

She walked down a stone corridor near the dungeons. She hated the dungeons – with a lively passion. But it was the only place where she knew she would find what she was looking for. it was afternoon, why were the dungeons always so dark? It's like the school purposely dimmed the lighting and turned off all the candles to frighten the students. And they were always empty. Why were they always empty? Oh and there were plenty of unidentifiable creatures crawling around as well, which didn't help soothe the atmosphere at all. Then there were footsteps behind her, which she was convinced to be more of those foul little insects.

"Well well look what we have here. Lost?" a voice snickered behind her. She panicked. But it was cut short when she turned around, still quite pale, and faced the tall blonde.

"You scared me! I thought it was Crabbe and Goyle finally coming to get me." She put her hand up to her chest.

"I'm sorry. It was just so tempting," Draco stifled a laugh, "And where have you been all day?"

She pouted dramatically. "Oh have you been worrying that little blonde head of yours over me? I'm sorry. I was just out causing trouble – as usual." She winked.

"Ha. Ha. I wasn't worried." But he was. And now more than ever he wanted to know what she was really doing. She smirked and continued to walk, Draco following suit. He cleared his throat, wondering if she was planning on answering his unasked question but took her silence as a no.

The silence went on for a bit before she spoke again, like if she had spent the entire time thinking of what to say, "I was just thinking –"

"Really? Well isn't that something?" Draco smirked.

She ignored him. "Where am I going for the holidays?"

Draco looked at her confused. "I'm supposed to know that?" he said as he pointed a finger to his chest.

"I mean am I going to –" she cut herself short when she noticed Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode rounding the corner. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him away from the potions corridor into another one. "Am I staying with your family?"

"I dunno." He really hadn't the slightest idea of what his family wanted. He wanted her to go more than anything but he wasn't sure if he wanted her to be around his father at the moment - with everything that was going on. "Do you want to stay here?"

"Well," she began, "a few friends invited me to stay with them. I might consider it . But I don't know if it might be best to just stay at school."

He decided he would write to his mother tonight but for now felt that her idea might be best."All right. Just promise you'll make some time for me before then." He noted.

A blush crept up on her cheeks and she nodded. "We'll see." She said before she smiled and walked away. Something was very close to happening that day Umbridge practically crushed their spinal cords against the wall, but that was the closest they had gotten since. They both knew what was coming next, or rather what would've come next if Umbridge hadn't interrupted.

Draco had been attached to her since that day, asking her how she was feeling and if there were anything he could do to help. And she would brush him off each time by reminding him how he was beginning to sound the way a father would, not that she really ever had one.

Shortly after she had left Draco in the dungeons she had gone to her common room in search of her friends, but they weren't there. She freshened up a bit and wandered back down to the Great Hall. Ginny and Harry stood stiff at the new frame Filch was hanging clearly stating student organizations as a severe matter that could lead to suspension.

"What if we got caught Harry?" Ginny whispered.

"Nothing. Because getting caught is simply out of the question."

Cho strode along to where the two of them were rooted. "Hi Harry…Ginny," She mumbled bashfully, "Umm..Harry, would you like to join me for dinner today? I – Well I just thought we should catch up since we haven't really spoken in a while."

Harry was too stunned for words. This was what he'd always wanted. For Cho to notice him, right? His silence worried her but he finally eased her nerves. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later Gin." He waved behind him.

Ginny felt a rather large lump in her throat as she nodded; _What a fool I've been_, she thought, _to think he actually might have liked me_.

Silver pranced down the stairs and noticed the small bright red head that could only belong to a Weasley standing alone. She tapped Ginny on the shoulder, expecting her to be thrilled to see her as she always was. That was one of Ginny's most endearing qualities, the unconcealed excitement she would incessantly greet her dear friends with. But she didn't even bother turning to see who it was, all she cared to do was stare after Harry and Cho and how they were laughing – having a good time. Silver waved her hand in the red heads face until she realized what she couldn't keep her eyes off of.

"Oh." She murmured quietly.

Ginny nodded. "I think I lost my appetite."

"That's alright. But you know, I am still pending on your story on how you and Michael came to be. Don't worry, you can come sit with Luna and me and tell us all about it – we sit by Cho you know." Silver dragged her on one side while Luna ( which once again seemed to have appeared from thin air) grabbed her by the other and pulled her into the room.

"Hey everyone." Silver caught the eyes of her friends sitting by Cho and Harry. "This is Ginny Weasley."

They all smiled at her and introduced themselves, immediately engaging her in their conversations.

"Why is Ginny sitting over with the Ravenclaws?" Ron squinted to get a better view. "Oy, Harry's there too." He looked at Hermione. She shrugged, "I think Silver might be up to something."

"So Ginny – what year are you in?" Anthony asked her, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes from his generously filled plate.

"Fourth. I'm in my fourth year." She smiled

"I'm so glad they have pudding today." Luna stared off into the white creamy substance in the middle of the table.

"It's her favorite." Savannah announced.

Blake cut in. "Alec really likes it too. Looks forward to the few days we have it he says."

Silver took her spoon away from Blake while she admired the pudding. "Anything else Alec likes? Because I feel like I know so much about him already, we should all be dating him."

Blake dipped her head in Silver's shoulder, humiliated. "I have been talking a lot about him haven't i?"

"Yes, yes you have!" Lucinda fixed her oversized bow, as always. Savannah was now sporting a similar barrette on the side of her perfect blonde curls. "Ah! Good news! Well for the lot of you at least. Your very own bed has arrived. Filch told me during class today, haven't seen anyone drop it off yet. But he wouldn't lie." Lucinda said.

Silver and Luna beamed. "About time!"

"You didn't have a bed?" Ginny wondered. "You didn't sleep on the floor did you?" she scrunched her face much like Pansy would.

"No no we just had to make some minor adjustments and had a bunk instead." Luna smiled.

Terry played with Savannahs hair and she whipped his hand out of the way. "I just got my hair done _sweetie_."

Terry frowne, Dominic roared in laughter. "Yeah Terry – you should know these things. Wow. Bad boyfriend you are."

"I agree." Silver laughed teasingly.

Draco had been watching the friendly exchange between the Ravenclaws, since the conversation in his table was dull enough to put someone to sleep.

Pansy and Millicent were huddled together as usual when a first year Hufflepuff walked by.

"Oh my would you look at that?" Pansy pouted. The first year cringed in fear. "I rather do like that pudding you have just there. You see, we don't have any left unfortunately." She peered her eyes in the direction of Crabbe and Goyle, which were heartily feasting on the remnants of food left in the table.

Without another word the small boy threw it at her nervously and ran over to his table in tears. "Disgusting I'm not eating that." Millicent joined Pansy.

Crabbe and Goyle huffed and puffed like gorillas thinking the setup was all very clever and Draco rolled his eyes.

"What's the matter mate? You would've been the first to jump at the opportunity of humiliating someone." Blaise looked over at him.

"Yeah, but it all seems sort of pointless now."

Blaise shrugged. "Right. I understand. O.W.L's are coming up. I'd rather put my energy into that – should be terrible this year. But at least all that extra credit from the Inquisitorial squad is going to get put to good use."

Draco had caught one maybe two students ever since he joined. But what Umbridge was really wondering about was where so many students would wander off to the seventh floor so late at night. That's the mission he was put in charge of. But he hadn't looked too much into it.

"So, I believe we are long overdue for a catch up." Silver turned in her seat, placing all her attention on Ginny.

Ginny blushed, slightly embarrassed. "I dunno, i mean..he asked me and, i said yes." She looked over at Luna. "Luna overheard him talking about how much he liked me and we went out to Hogsmeade once, like a date i suppose," she played with her fingers before continuing, "And then he asked me and well we're together now.

I thought it would serve as a distraction, you know." she said softly her head slightly pointing at Harry.

Silver pursed her lips together. "Well..." she wasn't sure how well her friend had thought out the plan, "is it working at all?"

Ginny took a moment before answering, and then shook her head no.

"Oh Ginny," Silver felt terrible she hadn't been around as much as she should've, "He'll come around, I'm sure he will. Just give it some time."

Ginny tried to muster a smile, desperately wanting to believe that. "Well, we can hope can't we?"

Silver smiled, glancing over to the table in the farther corner of the Great Hall at Draco. "Yes, there's much to hope for."

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So was this chapter a success? Did we all like it? Yes? :)  
The title of this chapter comes from a great song A Fine Frenzy sings. The lyrics are really great and I thought it went great with the chapter, especially towards the end.

The part with professor Trewlany was just kind of like an insight to what is happening at Hogwarts around all the Silver/ Draco business, it's nothing of my imagination - that actually happened in the book and movie, as I'm sure most of you realized.

I wanted to make like a trailer for my story, I think it would make it so much more interesting to kind of see a visual for it. So if anyone's interested or knows someone that might be interested, let me know! I'd be so excited.

I will have a preview ready for my reviewers this time around, so pleaseeeee review!!!!


	23. False Impressions

_I am completely ecstatic with all the hits and story alerts and everything! It's amazing. The previous chapter has broken the record for reviews per chapter! I've never received so many!! yay!! Thank you all so much!!! :)  
_

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False impressions

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With classes finally over the Ravenclaw common room was filled to its maximum capacity. Everyone was dressed down in jeans and t-shirts, except for Luna of course which was wearing some strange fluffy skirt. Anthony, Terry, Michael, and Savannah were engaged in some sort of card game and some seventh years were playing wizards chess. The blue tapestries clung from the ceilings and small fireworks were illuminating the high ceilings, the work of a sixth year boy. Luna had gone off looking for something. When Silver had asked what she was searching for Luna simply shrugged and said she wasn't sure, but she would know when she saw it.

Silver sat in between five other fifth years including Dominic on a large blue couch and Blake shared an oversized armchair with Lucinda. They were all having good fun in the security of the four walls of their common room, one place Professor Umbridge surely couldn't manhandle.

"Ah, that's brilliant!" Dominic yelled as the rest of the group bent over in laughter.

"Well I thought so!" Lucinda gushed after she told the group about a time in Transfigurations when Professor McGonagall awarded her twenty points for proving Dustin Fletch wrong, a first year Slytherin the school swore would grow up to be the next Draco Malfoy.

Silver didn't like the direction this conversation was headed.

"Speaking of which, Pansy Parkinson's looking worse than usual lately." Cho mocked with the support of a few girls behind her.

"I think it's contagious! It seems like Draco Malfoy has caught whatever she's got." Anthony jeered.

Silver frowned. She didn't like this at all.

"He actually hasn't been bothering anybody lately. Should we be worried at all?" Cho continued to feed the fire.

Padma Patil was passing by and quickly intercepted the conversation. "As prefect, I really do think this conversation is inappropriate right now. We shouldn't speak ill of other houses. And Anthony, _you_ especially should know better." She threw a disapproving look at him.

Everyone booed her. "Quit preaching Padma." A girl sitting on the floor whined, "Even though I think there might be someone here that's very appreciative of you at the moment." The girl which she now recognized to be one of Cho's closest mates stared over in Silver's direction.

"And why would you say that Hannah?" Silver narrowed her brows questionably.

Hannah was about to say something when Blake cut her off. "Jealous are we?" Then Dominic took a jab as well. "I could see why, look at her! She's even managed to get Draco Malfoy drooling all over her." His hands hovered over Silver and then winked for good measure.

Silver looked at them gratefully and brought her forehead down to her hand, laughing, when some boys started whistling. The conversation took a turn for the better when they began to talk about what they were doing for the holidays and Silver found it as a mean of escape. She climbed off the couch and out of the common room into the halls.

She needed a bit of fresh air - that was a pretty close call.

She needed to clear her head is all. There had been so much going on up there lately, she just needed a breather. She walked down the corridors of the school she had grown dearly fond of over the past three or so months. It had all been such a blur now, how quickly had the time gone? But she was glad that somewhere along the way everything had turned out the way it had. Despite their squabbles, Draco and her had finally managed to remain stable friends. But of course Pansy Parkinson had been a quick to substitute Draco in that department, finding the smallest excuse to quarrel with her.

And then there was Narcissa who had put a dent in her thought out plans when she had written to her, asking her to spend the holidays with the family. That was certainly unexpected.

She requested her attendance at the Christmas party the Malfoy family held every year, it was quite prestigious, the absolute dream for a socialite. All of higher class and much wealth were expected to make an appearance, including nearly every student in the Slytherin house – which made it all so much less awkward.

But she was thinking on her toes and arranged with Narcissa and the school to leave on the twenty-fourth, just in time to arrive by nightfall, so that way she would spend as much time away from the manor as possible. She still had to inform Ron and Ginny of her new plans before they left, tell them she wouldn't be able to take them up on their invitation to spend her holidays at the burrow. Luckily the Weasley twins had a few detentions to serve before they left, and so they would have to stay behind with Ron and Harry a few days. And it wasn't the least bit surprising to find yourself in more detentions that you can even count, all thanks to a very special pink lady.

A sudden wind gust aided Silver pushing the doors open revealing a white winter wonderland. The ground was covered in a white blanket of snow, making it a bit hard to walk through. The snow weighed down on your feet. And very strange indeed, it seemed to be swallowing the first years. That wasn't normal now was it? But of course it wasn't, judging by the frightened to death looks on their faces they didn't just bury themselves. A hoarse, boastful laughter sounded from her left and when she went to look she found Crabbe and Goyl tossing around, yes tossing, a little boy.

"Oh look Crabbe he's scared!"

"Should we stop then Goyle?"

They looked at each other with no clear expression on their round faces before they both yelled. "No!"

Silver rolled her eyes and began climbing her way through the snow over to them.

"What are you two bafoons doing? Scared to pick on someone over the age of twelve?" She mocked.

Crabbe set the boy down and glared at her. She served as a distraction and the little boy ran off to his friends as he looked at her with a twinkle of gratitude in his eyes. The two large boys stared her over, making her feel rather uncomfortable, then began lifting their broad legs in the snow.

"Oh so what do you suggest then _Crouch_?" Crabbe sneered, his daunting figure enormous in comparison to her thin frame.

Draco was leaning on a stone column beside his friends, obstructed from view and moved out to the clearing to see what the fuss was about. His appearance was greeted by the small first years gasping in fear. They had just been bullied by his cronies and now came the pack leader.

But Silver and the goons hadn't noticed. "Well Crabbe, Goyle - I s_uggest_ you both scramble off to find your brains before they wander off too far." Silver seemed quite pleased at the cleverness of her words since they caused an uproar of laughter from the children behind her. But it choked into silence when Crabbe and Goyle growled.

"I think that's a bloody brilliant idea. Don't you boys?" Malfoy's deep voice penetrated through the busy courtyard.

Ah, of course she would find Draco around them – after all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Crabbe and Goyle stared at him dully as Goyle scratched his bald head in utter confusion. "Wha-?" he barked.

The first years could breathe again. There was a chorus of sighs, chortles, and some cheering when they were sure they out of any near danger. The small boy that was being tossed around waddled over to Silver and hugged her around the waist, which caused her to throw her hands up in surprise.

"Um.." she mumbled, not quite sure what to do.

"Thank you! I'm alive! I'm alive!" his not yet developed voice shrieked in a very feminine manner.

She laughed. "Well it wasn't all me," she told him as she tried to pry him off. "I think that boy there had something to do with it too." She decided to play along and pointed over at the blonde. "What his name? Draco Malfoy I believe."

The boy simply nodded, deciding it probably wasn't the best idea to hug the boy that had the foulest reputation in all of Hogwarts and then ran off with his friends. The scene left Crabbe and Goyle rooted to their spots looking as if their whole world had been turned upside down.

"Why don't you two go off and pick on some second years now? They're a bit more challenging. I mean that's why I called it off – I want you two to be challenged is all." Draco drawled and the large boys nodded their heads, a dimwitted smile crossing their face, and began to walk off towards another group of students.

Silver looked off in the distance they were headed anxiously when Draco interrupted. "Don't worry – the kids I sent him to are Ravenclaws. I'm sure they're pretty capable of putting them in their places." He smirked.

"Very true." Silver smiled as she walked over to him and stood directly in front of him.

"So why aren't you leaving with me this afternoon?" Draco gestured her over to follow him.

She shrugged and stopped where he had, behind a large statue in the courtyard, "I have a bit of studying to catch up on before I go."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Why are you such a good witch?"

"I am not."

"You are too."

"Oh hush, just don't come crying to me when I pass everything with straight O's and barely manage to get one." she said smugly.

"Rubbish. I don't cry." He laughed disbelievingly.

"Of course you don't. That's because you _weep_, you're a huge weeper!" Silver threw her head on his shoulder and counterfeited a cry.

"Shut up, you're so dramatic." He twisted his head and inhaled the aroma of her hair. That smell that was now beginning to become his favorite scent in the world.

"_What are you doing?" a young Draco questioned as he watched his friend pick flowers from his mother's garden._

"_Picking flowers. They're yummy. Here – smell." She threw the long flower under his nose. "It's orchid, they're my favorite you know."_

"Orchid. Raspberries and Orchid." He muttered under his breath. She quit sniffing and pulled away, puzzled. "what did you say?"

"That's what you smell like Raspberries and Orchid." He repeated.

"That's right." She tilted her head to the side.

"It's your favorite – flower that is." He looked as if he had spoken too much.

She smirked. "You remember after all these years? I'm very impressed Draco Malfoy."

"It smells really good." He mused as he played with a strand of her black hair.

She watched him pensively and did the most unexpected thing she had been waiting to do for weeks. She got on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his, without giving herself any time to think it over. It started off slowly, he was more surprised than anything else at what she had done. But once he realized what was happening he kissed her back with a longing passion that had been welling inside his chest since that day at Quidditch. He wrapped his arms around the smallest part of her waist and pulled her closer to him, continuing the kiss for as long as he could. She threw her arms around his neck, finally closing the gap between them and moved her hands from his neck down to his shoulders and finally planting them on his sculpted chest.

The sound of someone clearing their throat cut them short and she pulled herself off of him. Her eyes darted around nervously before she found the voice she had been looking for. Relief washed through her when she saw it was just Luna holding up a pair of shoes.

"I found what I was looking for. I borrowed your shoes once and didn't remember where I had placed them last. Sorry about that." Luna smiled at her and placed the shoes in her hand.

"As you were." She called over her shoulder as she skipped through the snow.

They both stood there motionless for what seemed hours. Silver stared down at her shoes and Malfoy stared down at her. But she wouldn't meet his gaze. He wanted to kiss her again. And again. And again. Even though the way he felt his defenses melt while he kissed her was hard to get used to, but he was willing to adjust and quickly.

"I – I don't know what –" she struggled for words. "Sorry." She took the shoes in her hand and turned around. But he didn't stop her.

Did she regret what she had done? Had he just gone through that and embarrassed himself? Yes, she did regret it because she wouldn't have run off if she had felt something, the way he did. He couldn't move. He wanted to cry. And he felt stupid.

Silver ran, fast. He hadn't come after her like she had hoped. How could she had been so ridiculous? He didn't want to kiss her, he didn't even like her. And what she feared the most was how badly she could've just now, ruined their friendship forever. She continued running past corridors, up flights of stairs, until she stopped at the owlery finding refuge with the owls, owls that wouldn't burden her with questions. She sat on a bench and Hermes immediately flew over to her, pecking at her hand to say hello. She gently stroked his head for a long time.

"Silver?" A boy's voice spoke and she feared it was Draco. It grew closer.

"Silver? You alright?" Harry sat next to her, his worried eyes hidden beneath the rims of his black glasses.

She smiled. "I'm fine, thanks." She pat Hermes again. "I just came to visit him, must get lonely up here without me sometimes."

Harry grinned. "Yeah, I come up here to see Hedwig. She kind of helps me..sort things out."

Silver looked at him strangely and he laughed a little. "I mean, I don't talk to her or anything. It's just..a lot easier to think up here with the owls than it is with people."

That's exactly how she was feeling at the moment, she completely understood what he meant. "As strange as it sounds, I'm up here for precisely the same reason."

Harry nodded and then looked out into mountains ahead. "There's a lot going on now. I just need to get away for a bit, you know?"

She smiled, showing her understanding. They sat there in the quiet for a little until he spoke again. "Are you coming with us? To the burrow I mean."

She frowned. "I can't. My aunts wrote to me, seems that they're coming back just in time for Christmas. I leave on the morning of the twenty-fourth to America." She picked up a rock from the bench and played with it, placing it from one hand to the other. "I really would've preferred to go with you guys."

Harry shook his head. "It's alright. There's always summer right?" He smiled. It was somewhat of a relief because Harry knew very well that his plans weren't to go to the Burrow to have a great time as usual. His plans for the holiday lead him to Number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"Of course, maybe by then my aunts will be travelling up somewhere very far." She laughed lightly.

Fred and George had to fufill their detentions tomorrow, and Ron and Hermione were going off to Hogsmeade all day together. So that left Harry all by himself since everyone was already departing home this afternoon. He didn't want to be alone, he wanted to go out of the castle grounds, think some more or perhaps not think at all. Just forget everything.

"Want to come along with me to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" Harry asked.

Silver nodded in excitement. "Yes! I've never been there and – "

Harry abruptly cut her off. "You're not joking are you?"

She shook her head and then tossed the rock she had been holding off the tower. "No, I didn't even go for my supplies. Narciss – I mean my er..house elf Narcisson went to fetch it for me."

Harry shrugged. "Can't wait to show it to you then. You'll love it."

A mass of students were now exiting the doors of the castle towards the courtyard to get a good seat on the Hogwarts Express. Most were leaving, and the ones that stayed behind were there to bid their dear friends farewell.

Blake was struggling with her things ("I swear this trunk is heavier than it was in the beginning of the year!") while Savannah and Terry were practically in tears, trying to console the other that the holidays would fly by quickly and they'd be back together again before they knew it.

"You be careful." Luna eyed Silver mischievously.

Silver sighed, she knew exactly what, or rather who, Luna wanted her to 'be careful' about. "Nothing to worry about Luna, he's leaving now too."

"It's alright Luna, I'll be here to make sure she stays out of trouble." Dominic appeared from behind her and placed his arm around Silver's shoulders, and she rolled her eyes.

Anthony steadily approached the group with trunk in hand. "Well I suppose I'll see the lot of you after the holidays," he grinned and then spoke directly to Silver, "You'll write to me wont you?"

She wanted to say no but instead, "Of course Anthony. I hope you have a good Christmas with your family." She added a smile.

"Well if you're writing to him, I expect you to write to me as well." Blake grinned and pulled Silver into a tight embrace. "Happy Christmas darling, expect a parcel from me."

Silver smiled widely. "And you expect one from me!"

Savannah and Terry were next to say their goodbyes, with a quick embrace from the blonde beauty and a pat from Terry, they were all off into the train within seconds.

Dominic stood with Silver in the gates of the courtyard watching the last bit of students board and the engine begin to roar. Someone walked straight past her, with another rather quickly. It was Draco and Zabini. She felt her chest tighten and her stomach churn into knots, and when he pivoted his head around and stared right at her, her knees lost strength completely. Oh, she wished this wouldn't happen so often. It did get slightly frustrating at times.

Zabini was talking to him and when he noticed he'd lost his friends attention, he turned to see what he was looking at. It was obvious he'd found Draco's source of distraction because he didn't waste any time boring a spiteful glare at Silver, pushing Draco along faster than before. And then they both disappeared into the train.

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There you have it! So things didn't end too well between Silver/Draco, they're both terribly confused! But what's going to happen when they have to spend every last bit of the holidays (Christmas and on) together?

So next chapter is a very important chapter! VERY important.  
I will be giving previews to all who review, but sometime later this week.  
But you will get them :)

So you definitely want to **review **for this one!


	24. Life changing ice cream

_I'm just in heaven with all these amazing reviews I'm getting. The feedback is INCREDIBLE! :)_

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**Life changing ice cream**

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The school had become rather lonely after a great percentage of the students had all gone home on holiday. Silver had slept alone in her dormitory that night – it looked a lot scarier than it had before and so she took refuge in the common room, which seemed a lot livelier with the passerby ghosts and burning fire.

Night had gone by steadily slow, bringing her around to think about things. She hated these moments – when all the thoughts she had racked away would resurface because there was simply nothing else to distract her. Malfoy had gone off with his family – and ever since yesterday, there had been a lump of something clogged up in her throat with no intention of budging anytime soon. She had some reason to believe that he wouldn't have rejected her the way he did, but now it all seemed foolish. And although there were still three days before she had to depart, all she could think about was seeing him again – desperately hoping they would be able to reconcile.

She woke up at about half past five – yes in the morning. The emptiness of her dormitory was uncomforting and she decided to straighten up the room, just to keep her mind busy. Dominic had also stayed behind along with Michael Corner and Terry Boot. But as for the girls – it was just her and Cho. And then there were some sixth years as well. Silver showered and rummaged through her drawers for something to wear. After pulling out half of the clothes out of her drawer and throwing them all around the recently organized room; she decided on a pair of dark skinny jeans which she tucked into her black boots and a black long sleeved top with a chunky white sweater over it – it was freezing. She brushed her bangs into her face and tousled her wavy hair out of a warm navy blue scarf she threw around her neck before she headed down the stairs into the common room.

Dominic was sitting by the fire in a heavy coat and the uniform scarf when she sat down beside him.

"Is it just me – or is this place a bit eerie when no ones around." She suggested placing her hands up in an effort to thaw them.

He laughed a little. "Yea, it is. And you're all alone up there, aren't you? Well I mean Cho's there but –" He cut himself off and allowed himself to laugh a little more.

Silver gave him a stern look, but it was quickly appeased with her more than obvious efforts to stifle her laughter and she threw her finger up to her lips to shush him. He imitated her mockingly and continued. "Well at least a few boys are left up there then. Not too bad. We all moved around into the same room.. Rather funny."

Silver rolled her eyes. "Your such girls, can't even sleep on your own for a night."

Dominic laughed before he defended himself. "For your information, they all moved into _my _room – so you'd be talking rubbish if you call me a girl."

She smiled brightly at him before she excused herself to meet Harry for breakfast. She walked out of Ravenclaw tower and found Harry waiting by a nearby corridor.

"Hungry now are we?" Silver smiled as she pat him gently on the shoulder.

"It's just so strange without Ron and Hermione you know? I'm so used to having them around."

Silver began to laugh at the inappropriate sentimentality of all the boys this morning. "You and Dominic are completely hopeless."

He looked at her and laughed, pressing on to the Great Hall. It was fairly empty, a few Hufflepuff's were already eating and Goyle was sitting by himself in a far off corner. They sat down towards the middle and began to rummage through the food.

"What do you suppose they're up to?" Harry asked between mouthfuls.

Silver raised her brow, "I mean, it is very possible that they might be eating breakfast now, just like we are. You know Harry, they're just over at Hogsmeade – they haven't died or anything."

Harry look panicked for a moment and then broke into laughter. "I must be going mad."

She shook her head as she grabbed a biscuit that was a bit far from her reach. "No, you just miss them….a little too much for your own good though." she smirked.

After seeking Professor McGonagall's permission, the two walked off towards the gates of Hogwarts and took the train over. The hustle and bustle of the busy street reminded her of her first day at Platform nine and three-quarters, except this time – she thankfully wasn't alone. Harry lead her down the alley and told her about the many different shops and where to find what. He told her about his first time there – how Hagrid brought him over and his utter confusion with everything in the wizarding world. The day had gone by quickly as they walked around the interesting stone paved streets full of wizards, witches, and any other magical creature you could conjure. When sundown approached he led her down to a small shop at a bright corner called Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

He shrugged back into his chair and took a look at the menu. He seemed frustrated – or maybe bothered.

"You alright Harry? It seems like something's bothering you." She said casually as her eyes scanned the plastic menu. He shifted in his seat and sat forward leaning his hands on the small round table.

He looked down at the table momentarily before he spoke."It's Cho," He finally said, " And Ginny. They've both been acting strangely."

She knew all about Harry's fancy for Cho but also his potential crush on Ginny, and about Ginny's reciprocated feelings towards him too; but in respect to her friends vowing her to silence – she never spoke a word to the other about it.

"And how can I be of assistance Mr. Potter." Silver said, taking the role of a stern professional.

"I want to ask her out, like to do what we're doing right now. I mean it's _so_ easy asking you, your you – no offense." He quickly corrected, "But I just…freeze when I'm around her. I'm such a fool." Harry had confided in Silver because he found it easier to tell someone that wasn't in his innermost circle. Ron would kill him and Hermione would think it all some practical joke.

Silver laughed quietly. "Around her? And which her are we speaking of Harry?"

He fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, "You see! That's exactly the problem!" he exclaimed just when the waitress came to take their order. She looked offended and Harry quickly apologized, ordering for the both of them. Then he looked back at Silver, eager for the woman to leave, and said, "Around both of them I suppose. Honestly it's just all so baffling."

So silver decided to end his worries and pick sides for him. "it's not that big of a deal. Look if you want to make things easier – just invite her out with another one of your friends, preferably not Ron or any other red-head related to her. That'll set the grounds for seeing each other outside of school grounds until you're more comfortable around her."

Harry laughed but then sat firmly in his chair as if he had been enlightened by some philosopher.

"Brilliant! Your absolutely brilliant!" Harry praised as he passed a hand through his dark hair. The waitress placed their orders in front of them and practically ran off. He was utterly oblivious to how insane he looked in the eyes of the waitress.

Silver grinned, clearly loving the praise. "I'll be right back." She pursed her lips and excused herself from the table while harry scooped around his ice cream, a smile playing on his face.

"Excuse me ma'am." She stopped at the counter to ask the woman for directions, "but do you happen to know where the bathroom is?"

The woman stared at her wide-eyed and stammered. "Oh my dear girl – I never thought I'd see the day you two would be reunited."

"Excuse me?" Silver asked, surely this woman must have her confused with someone else.

"You are Silver Crouch aren't you?"

Now silver was the one to widen her eyes – how did this lady know her name? The elderly woman must've read her mind. "You see, I used to work for the ministry. I know all about what happened _that night_." She whispered the ending as she looked around the shop.

This lady was mad. What on earth was she talking about?

"I'm sorry ma'am, I think you're mistaken."

The woman shook her head disapprovingly. "They never told you 'nything did they? I knew this was bound to happen. Here you are sitting with your brother and you don't even know –"

Silver ended the woman's rambles before she had a chance to finish. "My what?" she practically yelled. This _had _to be a mistake. "I'm an orphan, I don't have any sort of _family_ – especially not a brother."

The woman looked like she was about to burst into a rant. "Hogwarts? That's where you're attending school now I suppose – since you're here in London. Ask Dumbledore, he'll explain everything." She said suggested calmly, as if she hadn't just turned a girl's world upside down. Silver looked back at the boy, now done with his bowl of ice cream, and back at the woman – that was now, nowhere to be found. She grabbed on the edge of the smooth counter and sat on a nearby stool, attempting to process the information. Her dimming green eyes darted across to Harry and back around the room – in search of the vanishing woman. She regained her balance and marched back towards the boy.

"We need to talk to Dumbledore, _now._" Silver said desperately as she grabbed Harry's hand to force him out of the chair.

"Wha-at? Why, what's going on Silver?" he asked, worried.

She looked around and noticed the curious eyes now focusing on the two teenagers. "Not here, I'll tell you once we get back to Hogwarts."

They walked back in silence in the fast falling snow, their boots sinking in the piled up hills of fallen ice. She examined the boy next to her as he removed his glasses and tried to clean the droplets of melted water with his scarf. Now she began to notice their similarities. Her black hair trailed down her back as his pointed up in unruly directions all over his head. Her emerald eyes were identical to his. And without her slight tan, which she had acquired during the summer months, they looked _related_. His thin nose pointed upward, just like hers – and although he wore glasses because of bad vision, she did have reading glasses she used on occasion. She gasped a little too loudly, startling Harry. He looked at her concerned, but he chose to wait until they got to school to push the matter any further.

The older woman watched the two children that were once alienated from her fifteen years ago; walk out the glass doors of the shop together. She murmured what sounded to be a spell as she whisked her want pointedly at her head. Blink. Standing in the place of the elderly woman was now a tall, long man with reddish brown hair and a moustache to match. He walked out of the shadowy corridor and entered the busy parlor, but before he was able to exit a man a bit older than he was stopped him from behind the counter

"Remus? Remus lupin! what brings you back to London?" he husked brightly.

Lupin smiled faintly "Pleasure to see you again Mr. Fortescue, I trust your wife is well." He said approaching the man before he answered his question. "I just stopped in for a quick visit – wanted to surprise my god -daughter."

They continued fighting through the shower of falling snow but it seemed like the long walk had ended too suddenly. Silver had been so preoccupied thinking, putting things together, remembering to inhale and exhale she hadn't even noticed when Harry tugged at her sleeve, as if he was trying to wake her up.

"Whats this about Silver? You look like you've just been stunned." Harry asked, his patience wearing thin.

"Take me to Dumbledore's office." Was all she said.

He did as he was told. They travelled the corridors of Hogwarts, the cold from the outside following them in. But Silver didn't feel it, she actually felt particularly warm. They finally made it, she recognized the place of course. The last and only time she had been in the Headmaster's office was when she had privately been sorted on her first day.

Harry whispered something into the door, apparently he knew the password because the gargoyle statues drew open revealing a long circular staircase. Her heart dropped to her stomach. Now she was here, where she had asked to be taken to – but how would she even begin to address the Headmaster about this? Claim that an old woman at a shop had told her this nonsense and she had been foolish enough to believe it? Oh , the relief that would be.

"Why, I wasn't expecting you." The old man's voice sounded surprised, but the twinkle in his eyes never faltered.

"Trust me Professor, neither was I." he rubbed the back of his neck and then looked back from Dumbledore to Silver. "Silver had something urgent she needed to speak to you about, I think."

She snapped out of her dream-like state. "um..Yes, yes I would…like to discuss something important that has been called to my attention, sir.."Her voice was a bit shaky when she spoke.

Dumbledore smiled. "Well then come,come take a seat," he sat and gestured to the seats in front of his ornate desk, "now what is it you would like to discuss ."

She hadn't the slightest idea of how to begin and so she took a few moments to recollect her thoughts before she answered him. "Well, sir, you see we were at the ice cream parlor in Diagon alley.."

"Ah, yes! Madam Fortescue, she makes the most delicious desserts."

Silver nodded. "Yes I agree she does, but I'm afraid this has nothing to do with ice cream."

Dumbledore readjusted his spectacles and urged her to continue.

"Well there was an elderly woman there, she was standing by the counter and I approached her to ask her for the bathroom." Silver began to play with her hair, as she usually did when she grew nervous. "And she said something to me, something that I came to you to seek truth about because you see, she said that you would have the answer for me."

Harry looked concerned, Dumbledore a bit expectant. "Well she saw Harry and I sitting together, eating our ice cream.."

Dumbledore interrupted once again. "Yes, very good."

"Yes. But she first began to rant about how she used to work for the ministry a few years back and how she knew all about me," Silver furrowed her brows. ,And – about _that night_." Silver emphasized the words like the old woman had and looked up at Dumbledore to see if he had reacted, but he hadn't.

"Well, she then went on to talk about how excited she was to see Harry and I reunited, and that she was utterly flabbergasted that no one had told us we were…" she looked over at Harry, and then down to the floor, "…_related."_

Harry nearly fell off his chair. "We're what?!" he looked frantically back at Dumbledore ,"Professor?'

Dumbledore didn't seem fazed by what he had heard, it was almost as if he had been waiting for this to happen. And then he began to laugh.

Silver stared at him wide-eyed. "Professor Dumbledore, sir, that's hardly appropriate. Is she right? Is it true?"

Just then Harry began to laugh wildly as well. Silver looked over at him sternly.

"Don't you see Silver?" Harry finally caught his breath, "he's laughing because it irubbish! I mean it's impossible!"

She calmed down and exhaled. "Well, I guess it is kind of funny." Silver laughed a little.

Dumbledore was now adjusting his spectacles once again and seemed to have regained his composure. "Oh no no! It's quite true."

"What?!" Silver and Harry yelled in unision.

" I believe you are sitting beside your sister at the moment."

"My what? Sister? Silver Crouch is my sister?"

"So then Harry really is my brother?"

Dumbledore seemed amused, "Yes I believe you are." And then in an almost bipolar manner, he grew gravely serious. "Make yourselves comfortable, you have quite a story to take in."

They did as they were told and Dumbledore began to explain everything. From the night of the attack, how Silver had been with Sirius Black while Lily, James and Harry were near death. Then about Hagrid, and how he was under strict orders to bring both of the children back to him for they were both in grave danger. And about how they were separated because the ministry thought it was in their best interests. Which then lead them full circle to Harry living with the Dursleys and Silver being brought under the care of Barty Crouch Jr.

The teenagers had paled to just barely having a tint of color to their skin. Harry had known about his past, who his real parents were but Silver on the other hand was in complete shock. She hadn't the slightest idea to her past before Barty and she never bothered to ask, for the simple reason of simplicity. She knew that having the knowledge of her real parents would cause curiosity to find out more about them, thus complicating her life to a greater extent. She had grown comfortable with the little she did know – ignorance was undoubtedly bliss.

Now after just one conversation, and a gnat of an old woman, her entire life had changed. She now had famous parents, an equally famous brother and along with it, a long lasting rivalry with the Dark lord her father, or what she had known to be her father, had pledged allegiance to.

But a fraction of her felt somewhat of a relief. Relief that she was no longer tied to the Deatheater's and their malevolent ideas of the wizarding world. She had family now, _real_ family. A brother. And although her parents are no longer alive, she now knew about their bravery and their unrelenting courage. They gave their lives to save their son, and she was sure they would've done the same for her if she had been present as well.

Silver sat gripping on to the armchair and stared inattentively into nothing. She had been looking down for so long she paid no attention to Dumbledore's concerns. "Ms. Crouch I know this rather difficult for you to swallow, but think of this as a sort of blessing in disguise." He smiled, his eyes twinkling brighter than before.

"You were both particularly keen on searching for family and you have both attained it, in an unlikely manner."

She looked up and caught Harry's eye. "So where do we go from here?"

Harry shook his head. "Well, we're family – so I'm sure whatever we decide, we can certainly make due of it together."

She smiled at him, feeling more at ease than she had felt in a while.

---

Silver and Harry spent the remains of the day asking each other questions regarding their childhood, anything to get to know each other better.

"So, after Barty was arrested for impersonating Mad eye Moody you were sent to live with the Malfoys?" It was a lot harder to consume Silver's tie to these pureblood families than Harry's time with the Dursleys.

Silver nodded. "Narcissa's very accommodating, a sweet lady. There's just always a misconception of her because of her….husband."

Harry coughed."Well I would say so."

She laughed. "I have to agree with you there, Lucius Malfoy is not a nice man."

"Certainly not, I'd rather throw myself, without my wand, into a pit of hungry dragons than have a conversation with that man. And trust me I've been there, done that."

"Oh well I'd say that's a good trade-off. But you see some of us don't have that option." She pouted.

"That's a bit unfortunate for you." Harry smirked. "But you know, your friendship with Malfoy might have changed since the two of you were younger. Listening to your descriptions of him before is completely new to me, that isn't the Draco Malfoy we all know now."

It was partially true, Draco wasn't the same but with a little work he had potential to start fresh, and the only way he would feel confident enough to do so would be with Silver's support. And she wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish that since they weren't exactly on good terms, once again.

"I don't want to talk about him anymore, lets change the subject."

Harry seemed concerned. "Why? What did the git do?"

She ignored him. "We're in a bit of a spat at the moment. "

He raised his eyebrows, urging her to continue.

"What else do you want me to say Harry? We're fighting, we didn't end on good terms yesterday and now I have to go back to the manor by Christmas eve and I don't know what to say, what to do. I don't know how to make amends." She buried her head into her hands, it sounded so much worse aloud.

"You don't have to worry about that now Silver," he looked down at her and then off to an owl that had just perched from it's flight, "I leave tomorrow afternoon, Fred and George have been in detention all day." He smirked.

"Promise you'll write to me if you have any problems with the Malfoys?"

Silver nodded and agreed. "As long as you promise you'll write to me as well. I know your looking forward to seeing Sirius but try not to forget about your.." She trailed off for a minute, speculating on the idea of how weird it all sounded, "…sister."

---

"Does she know?" A red headed man sat in the very same chair where two distraught students sat just before.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at the man. "She listened to you and came to me for reassurance as you planned Remus. And yes, they both know."

Remus Lupin brought his hand up to his lip in thought. "How did poor Harry take it? it must've been difficult for him."

"They were both a bit disbelieving at first, but after a few moments, once they allowed themselves to come to terms with it, they were rather accepting of embracing each other as family." The elderly man was proud to bring some comfort to the Potter children.

Remus Lupin smiled, "I just hope I did the right thing in telling them."

Night went by and morning dawned. Silver joined Harry and the others to the main gates of the castle to wish them a good trip. Fred and George had already begun to brainstorm on the pranks they'd begin to pull come after the holidays, as if they weren't in enough trouble already. Ginny on the other hand had been quite somber for the past few days, sure she had a boyfriend – but she still couldn't feel a tinge of jealousy whenever she saw Harry and Cho. And when she found out they shared a kiss after the last meeting for Dumbledore's army she nearly went mad.

Hermione and Ron both gave Silver a quick hug and then boarded the train, while Harry stayed behind to speak to her.

"I think I'm going to try to find out who that woman was, you know, the one from the ice cream parlor." Silver suggested.

Harry looked curious but then shrugged, "just be careful. Let me know if you find anything."

She nodded, "Are you going to tell them?" She meant Ron and Hermione, it was clear Harry confided in them with everything and something like this certainly made no difference.

"I dunnno yet, but I will tell Sirius about it."

She agreed, thinking it was the best source of information they could receive and hugged him goodbye.

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	25. Think of you

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**Think of you**

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**

The curiosity was killing her. There was no way she would restrain herself at school for two days without thinking about that woman.

That particular woman that inadvertently turned her life around completely. Silver now had a brother in Harry Potter and it was all very strange to her. Greater emphasis on the strange.

She received her first letter from him that morning. He was checking in with her and let her know he had arrived safely along with Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. She wrote back immediately, writing about her boredom at school for the time being. Dominic had gone off already and she wasn't really acquainted with the Ravenclaw's who were staying for the rest of the break.

Silver sat alone, enjoying her breakfast – she was famished. And was eagerly awaiting a response from Rupert and Lucy, her dear friends from Salem. She sent an owl to Lucy yesterday morning, and still no answer, she had never taken so long to reply. And then, almost working like clockwork Hermes came swooping in right as Hedwig was on her way out carrying a small letter in her clawed feet.

She dropped the parchment in front of her and then flew back out in haste.

She untied the ribbon around the paper and rolled it open. It was from Lucy!

Silver read through the writing swiftly and then rolled it back up once she was done with it. _Perfect,_ she thought as she took a biscuit she had buttered just before with her and then dashed out the doors.

"You haven't touched your breakfast Draco dear." Narcissa's worried gaze fell on her son as he picked at the food in his plate. She sat on the stool by the counter beside him and gently laid her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged.

But she knew what was bothering him, for the most part at least. Lucius and his expectations for him, the dark lord and his expectations for him. And even the added pressure from Silver, who pressed on him the desire to break away from it all. Although, that was the most part Narcissa wasn't aware of.

"I'm not hungry mum, thanks." He glanced over at her with a cursory glance, "Where has father gone off to?"

Narcissa only lowered her head, "He'll be back soon..at least I hope so." she tried to smile.

A half hour later, Silver found herself recapping her walk with Harry the other day trying to retrace the path to Madam Fortescues ice cream parlor. Luckily, she succeeded. The area in front of the door was the only piece of floor that wasn't entirely covered in snow, although a woman kept sweeping at it in order to maintain it for the snow was now falling softly, piling up repeatedly after she cleaned.

"Watch where you step!" she said while glowering down at Silver, "It took me just about an hour to sweep!"

A bell abover her made a small ring as she pulled the door open, letting the shop owner there was a new customer in the vicinity.

She scanned the room, wandering off from one table to the next and then the next until she found herself staring into a pair of warm brown eyes of a girl with a bob. Silver felt her chest swelling as if it were about to explode. "Lucy!" she cried as she ran over to her friend.

Lucy quickly pulled her into a hug on the verge of tears, "Oh Silver! I've missed you so much! I can't believe you're here!"

Just then, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her neck and whisper into her ear. "What? Did you already forget about me?"

She turned her head and stared into Rupert's face before she threw her arms around him. She was so happy, she couldn't even speak.

"Oh well I have to keep my distance a bit I think, since you are a taken man now aren't you?" Silver pulled away winking and gestured over to Lucy.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Seriously, out of all the girls I know – you're definitely the last one I have to worry about.

Melinda has her grimy paws all over him."

Rupert laughed, "it's not like I can help it."

Melinda was the Draco Malfoy of Salem, she would bully without end. And when she wanted something, she would have it, no questions asked.

"He can get so cocky sometimes."

"I missed you guys." Silver grinned. But just then something caught her eye, a woman with familiar graying red hair and a black cloak. The woman that had been there yesterday providing an insight strong enough to change her life.

Lucy was speaking, what about Silver couldn't possibly say because all she caught was 'Salem' being mentioned on several occasions. Worried the woman would disappear she thought fast and decided to go after her. "Hold that thought." She maneuvered her way between Rupert and Lucy and began walking towards her.

"Excuse me ma'am." She called out as she grew closer. The woman twisted her head to face her for a moment but quickly turned away, still walking. _Did she just ignore me?_ Silver thought to herself and once again attempted to call out to her, she was certain the woman was near enough to hear her clearly. She followed her into a dimly lit hall that was dark enough to remind her of the dungeons at Hogwarts. It gave her the chills - and it reminded her of Draco.

"Ma'am." She said again and with that the woman reached down for her wand. Silver nearly fell back fearfully and threw her hands in front of her in submission. "No! I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you.."

The woman looked at her kindly whilst she pointed the wand at herself and chanted a quick spell. The woman suddenly vanished, and her body began to deform and convulse and in nothing flat the woman became a tall, thin man.

Silver stood in wonder, studying the man that had magically appeared before her.

"Don't be frightened," he smiled, "I just thought you might be more convinced of listening to the groundbreaking revelation from a sweet and kindly old woman."

"Who are you?" she stammered.

His face was friendly, complimenting his smile, "Merlin, forgive me how entirely rude of me. I'm Remus Lupin and if sources serve me correctly you must be Silver Crouch."

A boy on his way to the loo passed right by them, giving Silver some time to think. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm sure you don't remember me. You were so awfully young."

"I've met you before?"

"You have, long ago, you were just an infant. But certainly you must not remember me, just like you don't have any recollection of having two brilliant parents and a courageous brother."

Now this was what she was waiting for. "How do you know all of this?" She straightened her back and broadened her shoulders, affronted, "Would you care to enlighten on how you know more about _my_ life than I do myself?"

Remus Lupin inhaled a deep breath,"I know this might be a bit difficult to swallow , but I was a very close friend of your parents, so close in fact that they entrusted me as godfather to one of their children." He exhaled.

Her mind was hard at work as he spoke. It was almost as if levers were clicking and wheels were turning, madly searching for answers. And the first that came to her aid was this; Harry is the only brother she has, that she is at least aware of, and his godfather was a man named Sirius Black.

And so she concluded,"To me?"

He nodded. "I understand what you might be dealing with, this is all very new to you and I have no intention of adding an extra lot to your burdens. Just know, that if you ever need anything, anything at all don't hesitate in calling for me," he continued, "I'm going to be in Grimmauld place for about a fortnight along with Harry."

Silver only nodded.

"And please, do not speak of this to the Malfoys, most importantly Lucius- he can not know about this, at least not at the occasion."

This was too much to comprehend, just two days and she had discovered a new family. She continued nodding and stretched her lips into a small smile, "I'll send an owl when I arrive at the manor."

Maybe this wasn't so bad. She certainly wasn't ready to pack up and move in with Remus and Harry of course, but they were there if she needed reassurance of family. She stepped away from where Remus stood and into the main area of the parlor. Lucy and Rupert were sitting anxiously awaiting her arrival and immediately pressed her on where she had gone off to.

Lucy made sure to tell her how much she loathed when Silver does that, those instances that she just walks off without warning, it worried her sick. Rupert was nearly done with his bowl of orange and green ice cream and glared at Lucy. Silver decided she would tell them – everything. She didn't know whom else she had the permission to confide in, surely Rupert and Lucy were allowed. After all it was them two which have been family to her for the past five years.

After Silver had finished she found her friends speechless. Rupert dropped his ice cream, Lucy almost dropped herself. They looked just about as dumbstruck as Silver must've looked at Dumbledore's office yesterday. It was hardly plausible, the story that is. The last thing you'd expect to be prepared for was how to react when a friend told you about an estranged brother you never knew you had, and now to add to those troubles, a godfather. Silver wasn't expecting a response, she knew after thinking it over Lucy would write and tell her what to do. After all that's how it always happened. Lucy was the thinker, she would sometimes take hours, days even conjuring up solutions or advice and once she did the information was brilliant.

Rupert slid off his seat, inching behind Silver and placing both hands on her, one on each shoulder. "I don't know about the two of you but I think this is really great. " he looked back from Lucy to Silver, "Silver, I'm happy for you. Now you know you don't come from some mysterious line of evil wizards like Barty or the Malfoys, it's the complete opposite.

"And besides, now Lucy and I aren't the ones that have to wait on you hand and foot."

That worked to ease the thick tenseness between them, and they all laughed.

"Excuse me Rupert, but you didn't even go to Salem so I'd say Lucy did a lot more than you ever did, thank you very much."

Lucy nodded, and then shook her eyes wide open, "That's not fair!"

Rupert shifted his hands over to Lucy and pecked her on the cheek. "It's alright babe, don't be afraid to admit it – she's done horrible things to us."

Silver bent over in laughter, "_This _isn't fair! Now that the two of you are all lost in love you're going to team up on me!"

The couple grinned. "Remember when you and Lucy were the ones that would always outnumber me?" Rupert chortled, "My, my how the tables have turned."

"I don't think so..," Lucy unwrapped herself from Ruperts grasp and headed over to Silver, "They haven't turned as much as you think they have." She smirked in a flirty, come and get me way, which Silver found a little nauseating.

"Ha! C'mon Lu, let's get out of here." Silver stood up and laced her arm around hers leading her outside.

Rupert stayed behind and had to pay the bill.

The snow hadn't stopped falling in days and Silver found every step in the four inch deep snow a struggle, so they couldn't run far before Rupert caught up with them.

But they're good time was suddenly stifled when Silver noticed a pair up ahead. Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were waddling out of the three Broomsticks together.

"Oh no.." Silver whimpered and turned around so her back was to them.

"Silver, what's wrong?" Lucy smiled, "What are you doing?"

"I just – I just think it's better if we go that way." She pointed ahead of her.

"But that's where we just came from.." Rupert said, not quite understanding her.

"Crouch!"

She cursed under her breath, lovely timing, she was completely unarmed. She recognized the screech of a voice to be none other than Pansy's, her shriek was unmistakable. Silver abided to respond and tried her best to to seem the least disconcerted.

"Parkinson." She scoffed.

Pansy found it funny and nudged Zabini in the ribs, who seemed to reaching for something in his pocket. Upon closer inspection Silver saw the wooden brim of a wand emerging from his pocket and it worried her to death.

"Enjoying our holidays now are we?"In reality, Blaise had no interest in how her holidays were going. He noticed the two unfamiliar faces by her, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends Crouch?"

"No." Silver placed her hand on Lucys back and started leading her away.

"Arent's so brave now are you?" he said snidely, "you can't just put a wand to my head and then pretend it never happened Crouch." He lanced his wand towards her.

_Hermione was about to say something before Blaise silenced her. "And what were you going to say? Eh Mudblood?" He smiled arrogantly at her silence. "Would you look at this Malfoy – seems like we have quite the lot beside us. A mudblood, a Weaslette – short of her Weasels, Looney Lovegood, and…" Blaise trailed off to the spot where Blake sat and landed on Silver, whose face was hot with anger._

"_- and the orphan." he added. Most of the Slytherins close to Draco knew of her situation, mostly because they were together as children._

"_Shut up Blaise." Draco said. Silver pushed her seat back and made her way to his table, lancing her wand at the boy. Ginny gasped._

"_One more word Zabini." She threatened an icy edge in her usually warm voice, advancing towards him._

_He hadn't noticed the wand pointed at his chest and backed into a bookshelf, startled, erasing the smug look on his face. Hermione jumped in her seat, throwing her hands over her mouth. "Silver stop it. If someone sees you –."_

"_Right. Listen to Granger ." Zabini stammered, stepping away from her wand._

_Silver could feel Draco's eyes on her and wondered why he hadn't said anything to mediate his friend. She discreetly pulled down her wand and placed it in the pocket of her jeans. "You can go change your pants now Zabini." She said before she trudged back toward her bewildered friends._

Silver's eyes widened in terror, "Put it away Zabini." She tried to say with minimal shaking in her voice.

"She's frightened Parkinson, look at her! Tell me, is it because Malfoy isn't here to save the day?"

The name stung, the memories flood into her without cease.

"_And so you expect me to just defend the lot of you in front of him and Millicent like that? I've told you about my reputation here – I can't just go around committing to good deeds and standing up for Gryffindors!" He tried to explain but to no avail._

"_Well then, I don't see why you need me around then." She said realizing how saying it out loud stung sourly at her sides._

"_No that has nothing to do with __them.__" He said exasperated. She had no idea how much he really needed her, in more ways than one -especially now, after feeling her soft body laying on top of his. "You haven't the slightest idea of what's been going on." his voice almost sad._

"_I'm not asking you to tell me anything. Your life is all your own." She spat before remembering she had knocked him down on the floor. "You're alright then?" Her voice softened a bit._

"_He's fine Crouch." A sneering voice interrupted. Her body stiffened as Blaise Zabini rounded the corner. "You on the other hand, should be more concerned with your own health." He made his way to stand beside his friend. His hand inched towards his wand when Draco firmly grasped his forearm to stop him, the look on Blaise's face causing him to cringe internally. He had never seen him so angry. "What are you doing Malfoy?" He spat venemously but Draco kept a firm hold on his arm._

If she wasn't careful, the tears threatening to come out of hiding would have their ambitions fulfilled. She was in no state of mind to be the brave girl she had been before. Had she been too blind to notice before? Both times where she stood up to Zabini, Draco was there. Like if he was the one who gave her the strength to take chances and be more outspoken. And now he wasn't and she felt small and unimportant, she didn't know what to say or how to get rid of them. But she just wished they would leave.

"Expelliarmus!" Rupert chanted and Zabini's wand violently flew out of his hand into the thick snow, "Run." He whispered frantically leading the way while Silver and Lucy followed suit.

They ran the opposite direction, shoving the crowds out of the way until they were sure they were far enough.

"I'm glad you're making friends." Lucy noted sarcastically.

"I've met her before, I think." Rupert said.

"You must've, that's Pansy Parkinson." Rupert came from an esteemed Pureblood wizarding family they did partake in a lot of the events of high society, including those of the Malfoy family. As a matter of fact, Silver first met Rupert at the annual Christmas party she was behest to attend this year, but this was before she had gone to Salem and cut her ties with Barty. Rupert went on to attend the parties up until last Christmas so that would mean, "Oh my god why hadn't I thought about it before?" Silver practically yelled, "_You're _ going to their Christmas party this year as well aren't you?"

He nodded, "That's right, you're back in high society now."

"But what about Harry Potter?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"We haven't talked about what happens next Lu, we're just taking this one step at a time. And besides it's absolutely principal that I attend this party." She desperately longed to see Draco again.

---

"But are they both In danger?" Sirius sat around a large table with others, Molly Weasley and Remus Lupin amongst them.

"Maybe, maybe not? Who's to say really? Does the Dark Lord know and if he does, does he remember?" Remus Lupin asked himself more than he to the rest, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Only time will tell I'm afraid," Molly Weasley was worried, very worried for now there were two children at risk as opposed to just one, "Do we burden Arthur with the news when he returns from hospital?"

"I'm afraid so Molly," Sirius added, "He's the only one working with the ministry."

"Thus the only person who can possibly provide us with any answers at the moment." Remus finished.

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_By the way I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and I loved it! I know it didn't follow the book as much as it should've but I still thought it was amazing!  
So it got me thinking, sequel? Draco and Silver in their sixth year in Hogwarts? Hmmm..  
But I obviously need to finish this story first, so we'll see._

_Please review!!  
_


	26. Christmas: Looking to the Past

_I'm scared of what you'll say  
So I'm hiding what I'm feeling  
But I'm tired of  
Holding this inside my head  
-Colbie Callait_-

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_**Christmas: Looking to the past**

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Christmas eve drew closer and it was on that morning when Silver left Hogwarts. She had the option of using the Floo network, but she voted against it. The experience was rather unpleasant although it was the quickest way of reaching her destination. Although, much to her dismay, the Knight Bus didn't fall too far behind. The bus ride to the Malfoy Manor was irrevocably nauseating and Silver felt her breakfast travelling in places it shouldn't. Apparently she had forgotten how revolting the journey was from her first time on board. The bus driver called out to her from behind the drivers seat, "We've arrive miss, exit with haste _please."_ The irritable, lanky man drawled.

She wrapped her sweater snug against her body before she opened the bus door and took a firm grip of her trunk behind her, careful not to toss it around too much for Hermes' sake. The mansion looked more daunting than it had the first time. The spacious well kept entrance lacked its usual décor due to circumstances of the weather, the animals must be somewhere inside in the warmth, but the mansion alone was enough to ornate the landscape.

She lugged her trunk down the stone steps, which a house elf must've cleared the snow aside this morning for her arrival, but took her sweet time. She really was in no hurry to reach the house, she would sleep outside if absolutely necessary. Although it was frightfully dark out already, she hadn't realized how long her trip had been for she slept for most of it.

First she took the carriages to Diagon alley, from there she walked to muggle London, where she took a muggle bus until she was closest to the manor, at her stop she straightened her wand out from the sidewalk calling for the Kinght bus and that finally brought her to her destination.

This was all too familiar, she stepped closer to the front door and was instantly reminded of her visit to the manor in the summer. It seems that Narcissa had already heard the cracking of her trunk against the stone path, because the door immediately swung open at her arrival to the front step.

"Silver dearest, Happy Christmas Eve." smiled warmly, "Well come on in, come on." she gestured her into the house and then called upon a house elf named Mincy to carry her luggage up the stairs. Silver thanked her and began to take off her scarf and coat when another house elf asked her for it.

"How's school going thus far? I trust you're doing well?"

"Yes, very well ma'am, I like Hogwarts."

"Oh, no need for formality my dear," Narcissa said kindly and then looked over her shoulder to a wide spacious room with white furniture and a burning fireplace, "Draco, don't be rude, have you said hello yet?"

Silver could've just fallen down and never gotten up when she locked eyes with him. He was facing the fire and upon his mothers request turned to meet her stare. "Hello..Silver." He looked embarrassed and flicked his eyes downward.

"Hi, Draco."

Narcissa looked back and forth from the girl to the boy trying to find a source for the tension. "Well, dear you're welcome to freshen up and I'll send Mincy for you when dinners ready."

Silver smiled and thanked her for her hospitality, then without a second look at him made her way up the several flights of stairs and to her room. It was just as beautiful as she remembered it. The walls were a deep, rich shade of purple providing a dramatic contrast to the off white rusted furniture. The flowers were still in bloom around her room and the vines still wrapping mazes around her ceiling. She loved it, Narcissa had done far too much for her.

She ran to her bed and plopped down on the soft beige duvet cover, making herself extraordinarily comfortable until there was a small rap on her door. Draco? Nausea came crawling back.

"Come in." she called out meekly, investigating the doorknob twisting open, revealing a very bony, tiny, droopy house elf.

"Excuss me miss, Mincy has owl for you," the skinny little elf slumped over closer, dropped off Hermes and her cage (which was probably two times larger than the elf was herself) and opened the door of her closet, "Mincy already put the misses clothes away and the mistress passes a message to tell Miss Silver Crouch to dress nicely. " And with that the elf bowed its head and trotted over to the right hand corner of her room and just stood there rooted to the spot. Silver had a house elf when she lived with Barty, and she was almost positive this wasn't normal.

"Mincy.."

The elf's ears perked up and she waddled a few steps forward. "Yes misses Crouch?"

"Mincy, you can leave if you want to, I wont get upset."

Mincy jumped. "No! No! No! strict strict orders! Mincy stay mincy _must_!" she was hopping around in circles poking at her large round eyes.

Silver was scared the elf would hurt herself and ordered her to stop, granting her permission to stay in the room with her. _Dress nicely¸_ she thought to herself. That would mean a dress of some sort and thankfully, Salem had had enough formal dances to give her a vast selection of designer dresses to choose from for today. Being wealthy was most definitely a perk.

She laid out her clothes and searched for her dresses, once she found them she attempted to begin to hang them but Mincy came and begged to do it for her. And so Silver permitted her, just in precaution so that the poor elf wouldn't start jumping herself tortured again.

Once that was done Silver asked Mincy to leave the wonderful, spacious walk in closet and find another task to do, she needed some time to contemplate her choices.

She had a very generous selection, and she had acquired all of her dresses from renowned muggle designers, she absolutely loved their work.

So if a family private dinner on Christmas eve called for a formal dress, then tomorrow night would call for something even more extravagant. She kept that in mind in her choice, making sure she would choose tomorrow's before she chose tonight's.

She walked into the spacious bathroom, which was entirely covered in marble, the sink, the bath, even the toilet. There were scented candles floating all along the ceiling, much like at Hogwarts, all lit –sweetly emanating a calming lavender scent and she made sure to soak in every last bit of it while she bathed. Maybe this holiday wouldn't be so bad after all, so long as she stayed cooped up in her room for the rest of it. But her bath soon came to an end, and her decision on what to wear could no longer be procrastinated.

First came first and she compared from most elegant to least, leaning towards the least portion for tonight. The latest she wore for Salem's end of the year formal was a very flattering skin tight, tri-colored, and one shouldered number. Towards the top, where the one-shoulder strap area was, the color was a deep teal. A magenta color then formed the illusion of a corset from her bust down to her hips, and the rest of the dress a sort of purple color. It was very high fashion and she was sure it would leave quite an impression on Narcissa, and hopefully Draco as well.

She zipped up the dress and found a perfect pair of peep toe heels to match. She had a vast collection of shoes – once again another perk of wealth.

Upon further inspection of the closet she discovered a vanity hidden in an unexplored area of it and she began to get to work on her hair immediately. It wasn't soon before Mincy discovered her and insisted that she do her hair, it was her job to do her hair, she said. And so Silver found she had no other choice but to let her. She forgot they did this, the house elves that is. It had been so long since she had one catering to her and she quickly came to realize how annoying it was. She like fending for herself and being independent, but that obviously wasn't tolerated here at the manor.

And although she was more than content with her reflection in the mirror, she was in no way prepared internally for what was about to happen. That is, if anything did happen – he might just ignore her.

Mincy instructed her it was time to go downstairs for dinner.

She preferred to get there earlier, so she was already sitting before anyone else (Draco) arrived, so she took a few deep breaths and then scurried down the stairs as fast as her heels would permit. Mincy tried her hardest to catch up to the girl for it was her job to lead her to the dining room. Silver softened her pace as they grew closer and Mincy quickly took the lead.

Narcissa, alone, was already seated, thank Merlin, but she was far too distracted by her greeting to notice that Draco had arrived at the same precise time she had.

"My dear you look lovely! You must tell me who designed it, it's absolutely divine." Narcissa chose a long, black, empire waist dress.

The Malfoy's didn't like muggles or anything to do with them, so her quick thinking came into play, "Thank you, I'm not sure I remember right now but as soon as I take it off and take a peek at the tag I'll let you know." Silver said sheepishly and Narcissa laughed.

Draco stood silently in place behind Silver until Narcissa directed her attention to her son, she smiled proudly, "Ah, what a handsome sight to behold, Draco you look dashing."

Silver turned, a little too quickly, and came face to face with the boy Narcissa was speaking to. Silver took a moment to admire his figure under his black on black suit and blushed. _He looked good._ But little did she know that Draco was also gawking on the inside. Her face was brilliant as always, but he had never seen anything so skin hugging on her. And he _really_ liked it.

She mistook his silence for rudeness and unwillingness to speak to her and she turned back to face Mrs. Malfoy. "You're dress is very pretty Narcissa."

Narcissa beamed. "We're very glad you obliged to join us today, aren't we Draco?"

But he wasn't paying attention, he was still too preoccupied in gawking after the girl and hadn't taken his eyes off of her. Narcissa was quick to notice though, and she smiled. "Draco? What are you looking at darling?"

Silver glanced at him and he looked up, red faced turning to his mother. "The table setting mother..well done."

Narcissa giggled, "Darling you know I don't prepare the table myself, I never have."

Just then the daunting figure that is Lucius Malfoy stormed through the doors and stood, watching the disorder around him. Narcissa immediately brushed imaginary dirt off of her gloved hands and welcomed him. He nodded and asked for the party to take their seats. Lucius sat at the head with Narcissa at his right and Draco to his left, which left Silver to take a seat next to Narcissa.

The table was silent as the house elves scurried about to bring the first course. The décor was extravagant, the silverware was like none she had ever seen for there were small ruby's encrusted on the outermost border of the plates and tableware. Silver carefully ran her fingers around it and gaped unknowingly. Quickly realizing what she was doing she tightened her lips and looked up to meet nothing other than the piercing grey stare of the boy across from her. His lips curved into his trademark smirk and for a strange moment, she suddenly felt more at ease.

As the food kept being taken away and more was brought in, Silver couldn't help but notice Lucius' stare fixed on her for most of the night. She began thinking the worse, he would pull her aside and threaten her to tell him about Harry, possibly even kick her out of the house for being a Potter. But once dessert came around she was able to thoroughly enjoy it knowing that they would soon be dismissed and sent off to bed.

She finished before anyone else and found it safest to keep her eyes on the tablecloth, which she noticed now to have a very intricate pattern to it. But it eventually grew boring and she looked up again, meeting Draco's eyes once more. He mouthed something to her, but she couldn't make it out.

"Well, I trust you all enjoyed the food." Narcissa smiled.

Lucius nodded and continued, "Yes, very well made. But I believe there is an apology in order for my lack of decorum towards our guest, I'm sorry Silver but I seem to have forgotten to welcome you." His smirk resembled Draco, but it was much more spiteful.

"No need to apologize Mr. Malfoy." Silver attempted to smile, and she was sure it came out to look more like a crooked grin.

Narcissa and Lucius then excused themselves to retire for a round of brandy in the parlor leaving Draco and Silver in the dining room alone.

Silver looked down and stood up, intent on exiting the room as quickly as possible when something stopped her.

"Wait." Draco said. He was now standing as well, "Why did you run away?"

"Because I'm tired...I'm going to bed." Silver looked at him strangely.

He shook his head, "You know exactly what I mean."

She did know, unfortunately, and she also knew this was precisely the question she was desperately trying to avoid. She inhaled deeply and sighed. "I..Well..I know," she was raking her mind for an answer, "I mean, what did you want me to do? I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," she said referring to her kissing him, "and I just..I just felt awful about it and left.

But it's all over now, can we just move past this please?" her voice grew tiresome.

Draco shifted slightly in posture, showing a sign of clear discontent with her explanation,"Right, of course."

Were they that bad? Was it to have a casual conversation without it ending in an argument? Her chest felt tight, accompanied by a damp sting in her eyes, usually the symptoms that a wet night lay ahead of her. But she kept her face shielded from him, the last thing she wanted was for him to feel pity.

Feeling like there wasn't any more progress to be made, an unsatisfied Draco finally said, Well, as long as that's settled with," he passed a hand through his pale hair, "I'll see you tomorrow, I suppose. Goodnight."

Silver nodded, "Goodnight."

The first thing she did at returning to her room was kick her heels off, and throw them as far as she could muster. How could she be so ridiculous? She came here with her mind set on talking about what happened, about the kiss, and she failed miserably. She slipped her dress off and changed into her pajamas, desperate to climb into her covers and stay there.

Sleep didn't seem to pay her a visit that night at least not until around early morning when it was nearly time for her to wake up and once she did she wasn't the least bit bright-eyed nor bushy tailed. Her only comfort was knowing that the Malfoys would be far too busy planning today and she would do her best to avoid them at all costs. So she decided to carry out her promises and write to her friends and _family – _But there wasn't any parchment around as far as she could see, not even after searching through the drawers of her desk.

Mincy would get some for her she was sure, but the question is, _where_ could she be? Silver put on a pair of jeans and a sweater so she could begin her search and then slowly pulled the door of her bedroom open and slipped out noiselessly.

"Now," she began to murmur to herself, "if I was an elf, where would I be?"

"Did you really just ask yourself that question?"

Silver jumped up startled to the bone. Draco looked down at her with a smirk playfully gracing his features.

She laughed a little, but it came out sounding a bit hoarse since she hadn't rightfully overcome her fright.

"Um, I'm just looking for your elf, Mincy….I can't find any paper."

"And why do you need paper?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Why else would you need paper Draco? To write a letter of course." She taunted.

"True, you _would_ need a piece of parchment for that now wouldn't you."

He was teasing her and she knew it. "Unless you know of another way to make that happen."

"Well, no. But it just so happens that I might be in possession of some paper." He crowed as if he were the owner of heaps of gold - which was actually most likely true.

"Are you?" Silver couldn't help but smile.

"Come this way."

She followed him down the hall, a few steps away from her door, and then into a nearby bedroom. She carefully inspected the room and quickly realized whom it belonged to, this was Draco's room. The room itself was larger than Silver's, it that was even possible, and the walls were painted a dark green. What a surprise, Slytherin pride. He made his way to a large desk ahead of him, which seemed to be fully equipped with a bountiful amount of supplies you would need for writing purposes, and emerged with a few scrolls of parchment. But she was caught staring at a the carving of a snake engraved on the side of the armchairs by his mini library.

"Those are mostly older school books, some are reading book though, do you like it?" he laughed, she was a sucker for books.

"Yeah, it's nice." She paused and looked up at him, "Your room is very.. Slytherin isn't it?"

He tightened his lips in regret of what he was about to say next, "Well, you know father was really excited when I got sorted – he might've gotten a bit carried away."

She rolled her eyes, why was it that his father always had some type of control over his decisions. "I see." But they were already on rocky grounds, she might as well not push it. "Are you excited about tonight?" she added, straining her efforts to continue conversation.

"Not particularly, why?"

She shrugged, "Just wondering."

"You know, Crabbe and Goyle are coming." He said in a sneaky tone.

But she didn't catch on, for there were two others she was particularly concerned about, "And I bet Parkinson and Zabini are too?"

He nodded, "Don't worry about them."

She let out a derisive laugh, "Really? Because Zabini tried to kill me at Diagon alley the other day."

Draco's eyes widened to the size of orbs, "You can't be serious?"

"And he probably would've too if Rupert hadn't snatched his wand away."

"Rupert.."Draco paused, "Do you mean Rupert Lions?"

Wonderful, he was more concerned about who she was with than about Zabini death threats. Silver nodded, "Yes, he came to visit me – he's a friend from Salem, but _that's_ besides the point.."

"Salem's an all witches' school and I'm almost sure Rupert isn't a girl."

_Is he really still gallivanting over this?,_ she thought annoyingly but answered him anyway, "Alright not Salem exactly but a neighboring school. Do you know him or something?"

Yes. "I might've met him once." Draco answered instead. The thing is, he had recently heard Rupert had found himself a girlfriend and he was horribly jealous it might be Silver. But he decided to leave it at that. "Well mums been busy all day and I don't want her to come up here and bite my head for not being dressed and ready."

"Right, I'm rather fond of my head." She agreed, and just then she was struck with an idea.

She rushed back to her room, and emptied her trunk pulling out a miniature picture album that was almost as big as her palm. She placed it on the floor and flipped the cover open. The palm-sized picture album was now just as big as one of her school books.

It had been a present for her, the picture album. Draco wanted to put something together for her so she wouldn't forget about him when she was off in the states. With a quick spell Narcissa taught him, he pulled it together just with enough time for the both of them to look through it together.

Searching through the pages quickest as she possibly could, she finally stopped and pulled a photograph out. It was perfect.

The two children in the photograph waved back at her endearingly. They were both mounted on a broomstick. The blonde boy in front while the brunette clung on tightly behind him, their faces sparkled with enthusiasm as the boy stepped foot on ground. It was the day of their first flight on a broomstick. Narcissa had finally gotten over the fear of permitting her, what she believed, fragile son to ride one and it wasn't long before he was right back down begging Silver to come with him for another lap.

"_But I don't like flying Draco, you know I don't." Silver feebly admitted as she stepped away from Draco._

"_Rubbish! Don't be such a pansy about it. C'mon, get on with it." Draco urged her but to no avail, she just shook her head over and over again._

_He took her hand in his and pulled her beside him, "Do you trust me?"_

_Silver's bright green eyes were about to burst from how wide she had them open. "Yes.." there was a trace of hesitation in her voice._

"_Well then? What's the problem?" He kept a firm grip on her hand, "Look, we've gone through worse. Together, we can get through anything. That is of course, only if that 'together' involves me." He said smugly._

_She smiled, that seemed to be the ticket and she mounted the broom._

This would do the trick, she was sure of it. She found an envelope and slid the picture into it. She was about to go on her way to slip it under his door when a tawny owl came knocking on her window. It seemed to be struggling with a large parcel it carried between its legs so Silver let it in , relieving the owl of its burden.

He exited as soon as he dropped it off and Silver reached down to grab it. She instantly smiled. Her first Christmas present!

She unwrapped the orange wrappings and out fell a note and a bottle of something Silver was unsure of.

_Happy Christmas Silver! I'm passing on a bottle of my nargle repellent, they can be very dangerous you know. _

_Just want to make sure your prepared. I'll see you soon._

_Your friend,_

_Luna Lovegood._

Silver laughed out loud. What on earth was she going to do with a repellent to repel an imaginary creature? But that was Luna for you.

Another owl soon came fluttering in, followed by another and before she knew it – there was a small stack of boxes piled on the floor.

This made her enormously thrilled.

Blake and Savannah both sent her a large box of truffles, while Dominic sent her some good cheer with an eyeball that would follow her wherever she went attached with a note warning her to behave herself with Draco. Ha. Funny.

Ron and Harry sent her a box of jelly beans, which she discovered tasted a little too unexpectedly for her taste. Hermione sent her a book called _O.W.L.s: A guide for satisfactory results_. It would be best to start reading it straight away she decided; it was never too early to be prepared.

After about an hour of toying with her gifts, she sent out her own presents with the various owls and then attached a note on Hermes with a letter for Remus and Harry, oh and with the photograph for Draco to deliver firstly. It was silly, after all he was just a few steps away. But just as she experienced not too long ago, a lot can happen in just a few steps.

And she wasn't sure if that was a risk she was willing to take again.

They were all worthless, he would've preferred to not receive presents at all. But instead he was now two mice richer, thanks to Crabbe and Goyle. His parents gave him a new broom. Top notch, everyone raved about it. He knew it would be the envy of his friends when at the turn of the first Quidditch match of the term, hopefully he would catch enough snitches so they would forgive him for his past slip up.

And then a small letter emerged from under one of the mice that was now scurrying about the room in fright. Draco rolled his eyes, _stupid mouse._ He took a glance at the envelope and thought of what a terrible gift it must be, it was unpleasantly small – a red flag already. But in spite of himself, he opened it anyways.

His scowl curved right side up into a grin and broadened when he turned it over to see the signature.

_I trust you._

_-Silver_

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_Ahhh you guys are the best reviewers ever!!! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for all the amazing feedback for the story :)  
And please keep it coming! I love it!_

_So about this chapter, it's split into two. Simply because I didn't want it to be so long that you guys would get tired of reading! lol  
So the next update will be posted veryy soon  
And yes, there will definitely be previews for alll who review! :))_

_P.S. I forgot to tell you guys about the new pics up on my profile! Make sure you check them out, her dress is on there!  
_


	27. Christmas: Can I have this dance?

WOW! 63 reviews!! :)

_As I'm standing here, and you hold my hand  
Pull me towards you and we start to dance  
All around us, I see nobody  
Here in silence  
It's just you and me  
_**Colbie Callait**

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**Christmas: Can I have this dance?**

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She was ready nearly an hour earlier than she was supposed to. Getting dressed wasn't nearly as much of a struggle as it was last night, since her thinking strategy was to already have tonight's dress on the rack and ready. But this left her a whole hour to herself (Mincy didn't really count anymore) and her thoughts.

Thankfully, Hermes came swooping in, returning from her errand, and perched on Silver's vanity right beside her, giving her a friendly nip on the finger. Silver unrolled the parchment and out came a letter signed from Harry.

_Dear Silver,_

_I'm just as astounded by this as you are._

_I confronted Remus about it, and he told me it was true. He's your godfather. But of course it you think about it, it isn't much of a surprise. After all mum and dad were particularly close to Sirius and him, I suppose they wanted to make them both somewhat connected to their children's lives. _

_Ron and Hermione know by the way, Sirius thought it was better if they did. _

_Ron almost fainted, but Hermione was very sensible about it. No worries though, after the initial shock they're both quite happy, Hermione especially. She wanted me to tell you to stay with us for the rest of the holidays, but then I told her you really had no option in the matter. _

_Remus wanted me to remind you to stay very discreet, don't let anything slip around the Malfoy's. For safer precautions, he asks that you burn this letter immediately. And, he also wants you to be very careful. He says he prefers if you were near Draco Malfoy whenever possible (although I don't see how that might help you at all, I'm just passing on Lupins message.) _

_Love,_

_Harry._

What they were worried about, she had no idea. But it did make her feel somewhat happy to read about how concerned they were. She was adjusting to Harry a lot faster than she thought she would, it almost felt natural , in an odd way.

Mincy had spent the hour staring up at a clock, never moving except for once when she scratched an itch on her large nose. And then, suddenly, she began scrambling back and forth in her allotted corner and began hopping tirelessly.

"it's time, look at the time, its time!" she murmured repeatedly.

Silver concluded she was a very nervous elf, and it didn't at all help her own nerves. "Mincy, can you just relax for a minute please?"

The bony elf bulged her eyes outward, "Do not be worried Miss, young master Malfoy will be there."

Silver coughed up a laugh, "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about."

Mincy ignored her and began limping toward the door, "You must welcome guests with my master's, you must."

Silver fidgeted in her seat, "I must what?"

Mincy repeated herself and Silver's palms began to feel unusually clamy. "But, I'm not ready. I need a few more minutes, hours even."

Mincy trotted towards her, "You are ready Miss, the guest's are waiting, come, come."

"No really, I'm not. I can't possibly go down there looking like this…"

Mincy looked at her like she'd lost her marbles, hardly appropriate house elf etiquette, and began wailing. "No! Come, they are waiting."

Why did she keep repeating that? It made Silver even more reluctant to go downstairs. "I can't."

The elf had just about had it with her and marched right up to the girl, "_You are coming, now." _Mincy hissed.

And before she had a chance to think rationally, Silver took a hairbrush and a sharp _thud_ echoed thru the closet as Mincy keeled over on the ground. Silver gasped in despair. "Merlin! Oh no, no no no…" she got on her knees in complete panic, just one question hovering circles round her head, _Where do I hide the body?_!

-

The atmosphere of Grimmauld Place wasn't as jovial as it would have been if they were spending the family at the Weasley's home, the Burrow, but they made do. Harry, Hermione, and the entire Weasley family anxiously sat around a tight, narrow, long rectangular table awaiting the arrival of . Ginny couldn't stop shaking, she had been so hopelessly worried about the attack on her father and his condition, as any daughter in that situation would surely feel.

Even Fred and George were lacking their usual humor these days, nothing seemed funny anymore. Ron sat beside Hermione, a dazed look in his eye that had temporarily taken residence in his pupils. On the other end of the table sat Harry, but he was preoccupied with other things. Surely he was concerned for poor Mr. Weasley, he was almost a father to him – but there was so much going on.

"Daddy!" Ginny cried in happiness when Molly Weasley rolled him into the room. The entire family stood from their seats to tackle their father into a hug.

"Careful dear," Mrs. Weasley spoke to Ginny, "he may be out of hospital but if you don't loosen that grip of yours he just might be sent back." She smiled sweetly at her, fresh tears in her eyes.

Mr. Weasley at that moment, felt like the luckiest man in the world, and it was all thanks to Harry's vision. He managed to find a spot over Ron's head and redirected his gaze on the boy standing nearby. His face fell into one of pure gratitude, there was no need for words. Harry smiled silently portraying it was unnecessary to thank him, and exited the room allowing the family to have some time alone before Christmas dinner began.

He noiselessly shut the door behind him, careful not to interrupt. Sirius stood a few feet away from him and Harry soon grew aware of another presence in the room. "Sirius." He said, smiling.

Sirius looked at him proudly, "You've done a brilliant thing Harry, I hope you know that."

Harry didn't like being complimented, although he had prior history of receiving a great deal of them, but he never got used to it. The fact that he was a bit hated at school might've not been such a terrible thing, for now at least. He groped the inside of his pocket and pulled out an old photograph he had folded in half. He looked at it somberly; it was the picture of his parents he always carried around with him.

"I miss them." He said solemnly.

"They're watching over you Harry, and although they're gone – they have left you with a precious gift." Sirius said urgently, "They left you with a family, Harry."

Harry kept his gaze fixed on his parents in the picture; laughing, happy. "You know I'm here for you, I will do my best to provide you with both a mother and father – I'll even wear a dress if you ask me to." Sirius laughed shortly, but Harry only managed a bad imitation for a smirk.

"But that would be quite a disturbing sight wouldn't it? As far as females go, I suggest you leave that up to your sister."

Just then a door swung open and Remus Lupin entered the small room. He might've been eavesdropping.

"He's right, you know. You aren't alone my boy." Remus pat Harry as an encouraging gesture, but it wasn't long before his attitude became grim. "How are those lessons with Snape going? Have you been able to control what enters your mind?"

Harry shook his head, this was hardly what he wanted to talk about on Christmas – but he really had no choice. "I'm working on it."

"Harry, you can't let him find out about Silver. Block it out. Don't think about her at all if that's what it calls for." Remus sat down in front of him to reach his eye level. "Voldermort will use it against you Harry, he'll stop at nothing until he has you and –"

"Blimey Remus, now's when you decide to tell him? I ask you to tell him before he begins school and you all think I'm mad for even mentioning it in front of him." Sirius interrupted Remus mid-sentence.

Remus chose to ignore him, instead simply passed him on a warning to speak no more. "And when he finds out you have a sister…," his forehead creased in worry, "well, let's just not let it get that far shall we?"

Harry nodded, he knew things had just grown to be far more thorny than they were already were.

-

Did she kill it? This cant be happening. She just committed a cold blooded murder. And now, the Malfoys were with one less of an elf. She was sure upon hearing this Lucius will transfigure _he_r to an elf and make her a slave to the family. She can't be a misfortunate house-elf, she had a life to live!

She began to search frantically through her room for something, anything that would save the unconscious elf. Upon entering the bathroom she nearly slipped on the marble floor with her three inch stiletto heels. Not the best time to be clumsy - so she kicked her shoes off and tossed them aside, hastily searching for a bowl. She finally found one hidden under a cabinet and filled it to the top with cold water. This was sure to do the trick.

She ran back to where Mincy lay, water spilling all over the polished floor and then splashed it right over Mincy's limp body. It bellowed a squeal and gasped for air, looking panicked around the room until she saw Silver holding a bowl over her head.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Mincy screeched in terror, "Don't kill me please! Don't kill me!"

Silver grinned broadly, her face beaming with delight, "Oh mincy! i'm so glad you're alive!" And she crawled over to her, embracing her in a tight hug.

Mincy squirmed to unleash herself from Silver's grip, still squealing. Suddenly Silver grew aware of all the noise they must be making and let Mincy go. It was now eight thirty, a half hour after the party was supposedly due to begin and realizing that it was far too late to waste any more time, asked Mincy to lead her downstairs. Mincy did as she was told, but hurried ahead of her, anxious to get away from the madwoman that knocked her out with a hairbrush just moments ago.

Silver followed down a hall and into a huge ballroom, she stood in the doorway to take in the sight. It was brilliantly decorated, the walls were a deep rusted color, dark wooden panels every few feet. Dozens of chandeliers clung from the ceilings elegantly lighting the room with candlelight. In almost every corner of the room were large, thick Christmas trees towering over it's guests, which all seemed to be present at the time of her arrival. Apparently they were all very prompt. A band was playing classical music on a stage far away and there were more elves than she could count all holding up trays of food and drinks, making their ways through the crowds.

She hadn't even noticed that Mincy wasn't at her side anymore, and she felt more alone than ever. The people closest to her were glancing over at her curiously, asking around as to who this girl was. "I've never seen her before." And older woman gossiped to another.

This probably wasn't the best place to stand if her intentions were to remain as hidden as possible and so she dove herself into the wave of silk dresses and black tuxedos to look for Rupert. It wasn't long before she found him talking to his father and another woman.

She practically ran over to him, frightening him in the process. He stopped and looked at her for a second before he realized it was Silver. "Wow Silver, you look amazing!"

Her strapless white dress hugged her chest, the material embellished with silver jewels, and then sprung out from her sides until it reached down to a little above her knees.

She smiled, "You don't look so bad yourself," she teased him, "but where's Lucy, you didn't bring her?"

His father turned at the mention of her name, his lips thinning unpleasantly before he cheered up upon seeing Silver. He had always like Silver, she came from a reputable family – as far as he knew.

"Ah, Silver Crouch, it's been quite some time since last I saw you." He smiled endearingly before a woman pulled him away.

Rupert did the same to Silver, "Dad doesn't like brining Lucy to events. Or actually more like, he doesn't allow me to bring her." He slumped, "But I prefer it that way, he would probably just make things really awkward for her, and I wouldn't want to put her through that anyways."

Silver nodded, he was right. As they talked, she was hard at work scanning the room, wanting to catch a glimpse of the guests attending. She found Pansy Parkinson, she was wearing a long bright pink dress which did nothing for her pug like face. And by the looks of it, Pansy had found her too. Silver smiled pleasantly and turned around, before she got a chance to see Pansy sneer nastily at her.

Crabbe and Goyle were here too, just as Draco had said. They were very large, equally as large as their parents – so they weren't very hard to miss. They looked bored, and both shared dull looks on their faces. She continued looking around and found Narcissa, she was standing in a large group of elegantly dressed women, they were all laughing and enjoying their cocktails. Lucius was standing near her with a group equally as large but instead composed of aristocratic, robust looking men all appearing rather serious.

But she had yet to find the last member of the Malfoy clan, he was nowhere to be found. And just like he had read her mind, Rupert asked, "Where's Draco Malfoy?"

Silver jerked her head and twitched her lip, "I haven't seen him, have you?"

Rupert shook his head, "No, not yet."

"Oh."

"Ah, come this way my boy," Mr. Lions ejected looking at Rupert, "The Parkinson's are here."

Rupert paled, "I'll be right back." He said looking at Silver before he walked away.

Great, alone again. And to make matters worse, music started playing and everyone around her grabbed a partner and began to waltz jovially. Rupert was nowhere to be found, and her only hope at the moment was to hide by the refreshments stand, pretending she was suddenly very thirsty.

The couples gracefully crossed the dance floor wrapped in each other's arms, their feet following the beautiful harmony perfectly. _Where was Rupert for Merlin's sake? _She thought to herself over and over.

She didn't know what she wanted to drink, she actually wasn't very thirsty. And she wasn't at all familiar with the drinks displayed neatly across the table, there definitely wasn't any pumpkin juice. A presence then interrupted her renderings and she discreetly glanced over to see who it could be, and caught an undeniably familiar head of white, blonde hair.

"Are you really in the mood for a drink or are you just avoiding the crowds?" he asked, not once looking at her but instead serving himself a glass of something bubbly.

She took the liberty of not answering and just passed him a cursory glance.

He smirked and she melted. It's not like she had never seen his smirk, he actually spent most of his life smirking. It seemed to be permanently plastered on his face. But he looked _so good, _even better than last she saw him_._ He was in his usual black, head to toe, a lot like last night – but just a bit more formal. It suited him perfectly; it amplified his features even more handsomely than they already were. And before she had a chance to notice, his hand was outstretched in her direction and she unknowingly placed hers in his.

He led her through the couples, which had just finished dancing and were now waiting for the band to start up with another one, which they did just in time for Draco to place his hand on her waist and swiftly move her hand onto his shoulder.

She was never a good dancer, but it wasn't like she needed it, Draco did all the work for her. He instantly took the lead and spun her when it was time and easily provided a guide for her feet. Then after she came back to face him after completing a small spin, he took the opportunity and drew in closer to her. A jolt of electricity coursed through where their bodies touched and she blushed, finding it extremely difficult to look up at him directly.

_"Aren't you going to find a pretty girl to dance with Draco?" A younger Narcissa suggested as she bent her knees to reach down to her eight year old son. "Go on, I taught you how."_

_Draco didn't look convinced, so Narcissa tried again. "Look at Pansy, doesn't she look lovely?" _

_Draco stuck out his tongue, "But I don't like Pansy, mum." He looked up at a Christmas tree beside him and then back at the dancing crowds when he noticed his friend Silver limp over to him. it was her first time in heels and she was finding it rather challenging to perform the simple task of walking._

_Narcissa giggled, "You can always ask Silver, just make sure she doesn't fall over."_

_Draco smile broadly and waited for her to get closer. Silver opened her mouth to say something but was cut short when Draco grabbed her hand and took her off to dance._

"You look really great." He said far calmer than he expected his voice to be. It took him quite some time to decide he should get the words out of his head and make them known. She seemed to have been thinking about something because she was caught very off guard with what he said. And then, she smiled shyly. "You too."

The music began to fade, but they made no effort to separate. She was very comfortable in his arms, and it was something she had recently realized since the night that creature attacked her after leaving her training with Dumbledore's army.

But then she pulled away at the sound of Rupert's voice calling to her. "I was looking for you Rup, where did you go?"

Rupert scratched his head, "Sorry Silly (_that's Rupert and Lucy's nickname for her in case you guys forgot_) I couldn't escape, father had me cornered." He looked at Silver and the noticed her partner, "Malfoy, it's been a while."

Draco looked back from Silver to Rupert with a weird look on his face. "It has, since last Christmas hasn't it?"

Rupert nodded, "Yeah, Parkinson seems to remember me clearly though." He nod off in her direction and they caught her staring at him.

Draco laughed derisively, "I know what you mean, I wish I was fortunate enough to see her just once a year."

Rupert seemed to be very fond of Draco for he kept talking to him for a few minutes until someone interrupted their banter.

"What a wonderful surprise, Silver I didn't think I would find you here!" Anthony Goldstein beamed as he approached the trio.

She sighed, now she was sure she wouldn't have a moment of peace. Draco snarled when Anthony asked Silver to dance, but she didn't notice. She followed him and joined the masses. Although she didn't find dancing with Anthony as easy as it was with Draco.

Rupert noticed his anxiety after they left, and boldly asked him if anything was wrong. Draco only sneered and muttered something about disliking someone named Goldstein, whoever that was.

"Goldstein's the bloke that was just here." He wanted to change the subject, and fast. "Blaise told me you have a girlfriend now?"

Rupert nodded, a lovesick smile on his face.

Draco looked away before he continued,"Well done. Silver's a lovely girl."

Rupert furrowed his brow, "What? I mean yeah she's great but she's not my girlfriend!" he began laughing.

Draco stood rooted to the spot, feeling stupid, which is something he rarely came across feeling. And almost like a hero in disguise (very, very disguised) came Pansy Parkinson waddling over.

"Why haven't you asked me to dance yet Draco?" he was so befuddled he didn't have any choice but to promise her a dance, anything to get him out of this sticky situation.

Pansy purposely chose to take her place right beside Anthony and Silver and positioned her partner and herself for dancing.

Silver didn't like this one bit, it wasn't long before she became frustrated with Anthony and asked him to excuse her for air. But of course, he insisted on accompanying her. She obviously wasn't happy with the idea, but she wasn't about to brush him off, she would feel terrible afterwards.

They walked out of a large set of glass doors and into a covered balcony, thankfully it was because she had forgotten how cold it was outside. The silence was comforting, that is, until Anthony interrupted it. "Did you see the way that git Malfoy had his beady eyes on you?" he began to pace, "If he comes out here, I swear I'll hex him…or something.."

Silver blinked, simply because she didn't know what else to do. "And exactly why does that trouble you so much?"

Anthony wasn't listening, he was still swearing foul things about Malfoy under his breath.

And then, she seemed to have conjured up nothing short but courage because she said something you would never imagine to say out loud. "Anthony have you gone off your rocker? I'm sorry but you seem to be mistaken into thinking that I am something to you. We're friends, that's all."

Anthony looked aghast.

"I'm sorry Anthony, but, I don't see why you're so terribly worried about this. I can think for myself." She made an effort to exit, but Anthony was much faster and beat her to it, a scowl clearly ridden on his face when he looked at her, he wasn't the least bit happy about her speech.

Not a moment later, the door swiveled open once again but this time revealing an annoyed Draco Malfoy with a sneer written clean across his face. "I don't know how you can stand that Goldstein bloke, he isn't the least bit appealing."

Silver snorted, "In case you haven't noticed Draco, you can probably count the people you _do_ actually stand with one hand."

Draco grinned, the unpleasant sneer on his face disappearing. "You're on that hand you know."

Good thing she was leaning on railing behind her, because if she hadn't she would've keeled over. There was no hiding the red in her face after that.

His plan was to turn on his charm tonight, the same way he had undoubtedly done so many times before with other girls. But it seemed so much harder with her. He practically had the taste of her lips on his for days, he really didn't want her to run away the way she did – but he didn't know how to bring it up again without upsetting her.

"You surprised me tonight," she inched nearer to him and placed her elbows on the rails.

"Really? And how did I manage to do that?" he also took advantage of sliding nearer to her.

"You are remarkably, a very good dancer." She said, looking out into the night sky. The moon was very bright tonight.

He shrugged, "It always helps when you have a lovely partner to lead."

This was far too much for her, her heart was about ready to jump out of her chest.

"You better be talking about me."

He smirked, "And who else could I possibly be talking about?"

She looked to her right to face him, "I did see you dancing with Pansy, I mean she's just as eligible for the description as I am."

He looked to his left to face her, "Rubbish, Pansy's a nutter. Nothing to worry about, you are definitely awarded with that title."

They stayed that way for a moment, just basking in the comfort of the moment. His grey eyes weren't as cold and foreboding like they usually were, they had dramatically softened while Silver's green eyes exuberated the warmth he lacked in his own. A perfect balance.

And then, for that moment he felt the world around him fall numb and he kissed her.

* * *

And there it is! The long awaited Christmas party :)  
I hope it didn't disappoint!!

I enjoyed writing it.  
Mostly because Silver's realtionships with Harry and Draco are deepening, yet neither of them know about her relationship with the other.  
But it's a good thing she's such a great liar! lol  
untli things start catching up with her, that is.

Previews will be available for all who review!! :)  
So please keep all your wonderful reviews coming, I love reading them!!

P.S. I keep forgetting to let you guys know about the pictures I post on my profile! lol Go check it out I have her dress up :)


	28. Unanticipated Visitor

* * *

**Unanticipated Visitor**

**

* * *

  
**

Silver was up at around nine a.m, which seemed pretty late to her since she was so adjusted to the routine at Hogwarts. But now that she was on holiday, and what a great one it was turning out to be, everything seemed more _relaxed._ Lucius had barely made an appearance for the four days she had already been there, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. Narcissa was mostly around, but today she was out with her sister, Bellatrix. And from what she remembers, Narcissa's sister was not at all pleasant, so it was quite fortunate they decided to go out rather than stay at the manor for her visit.

Mincy was still fully terrified of Silver, she simply put on a pot of tea and then ran off as far as her skinny legs would take her. But Silver didn't blame Mincy for hating her, if someone would've slapped her in the face with a hairbrush, she'd probably be running for her life too. But there were more than enough house elves around, so she tried to avoid crossing Mincy's path, to ease her ailment.

Nearly forty minutes later, a pair of strong arms wrapped set themselves, rather comfortably, on each of Silver's shoulders, causing her to drop the piece of toast she was in the process of buttering.

"Why do you always sneak up on me?" Silver tried to sound serious, but a small laugh escaped her.

Draco looked down at her head, smirking, and took a seat across from her, placing his elbows down on the table and crossing his arms. "It's not my fault you're so jittery all the time."

"I'm not jittery all the time."

"Oh, yes you are."

"What do you know?"

"I know lots actually." He smirked.

She narrowed her eyes at him before she dropped to the floor to look for the knife she'd dropped due to his skulking about. An elf came running in from Merlin know's where and beat her to it, his bony fingers grabbing it before she had a chance to get down into a crawling posture. He handed her a clean knife. She took it from him in utter surprise and then he bowed with much decorum before he dodged off back to wherever it is it had come from.

Draco started laughing, "They're quick here aren't they?"

Silver peeked up at him from behind the countertop, "Did you even notice him in the room? Where…?" she was now looking about the room, a bit frightened another elf would magically fall from the ceiling.

She was amusing, that was for sure. Draco had spent quite some time examining her and he realized there hadn't been much of a change in her personality from before; And he was forever grateful for that, because it was the exact same person he had been thinking about for these past five years and not the horrible disappointment he would've felt if she had changed at all. Although she had in small aspects; she was a bit more mature, dedicated, and opinionated – but that was definitely for the better.

The pair had been attached to each other since the night of Christmas. They hadn't verbally spoken about their feelings, but they were very well assumed. Although, they hadn't shared another kiss since then because Silver felt she wanted to wait until their relationship, became, well – an actual relationship. For now, they were simply friends. With unvoiced feelings for each other. But it was apparent in the things they did.

For instance, on the twenty-sixth Silver insisted Draco join her in the library, she wanted to start studying with the book Hermione gave her for Christmas to get a head start on her homework; Because you could be sure the Professors' had all made sure to give the students enough homework to keep them busy through their vacation.

Once he was finally convinced (which didn't take too long) they headed over with their school books and parchment, ready for a long day of work. But the problem was, Draco kept fidgeting with her book.

_Silver broke into a fit of giggles, "Draco! Please, I need to study and so do you!" she said as she tried to claim ownership of the book he continued to meddle with._

"_I'm a natural born genius, I don't have to study." He scoffed with the book still in his possession._

_Silver rolled her eyes, "Well I'm sorry Master Malfoy but we aren't all naturally born with everlasting knowledge." She victoriously grabbed the binding and pulled._

"_Alright, alright," he said as he placed his hand on one of hers to stop her from pulling, "You can have your book." He set it down on the table, but kept a firm hold of her hand, with no intentions of letting go._

_She looked down towards her hand, and went hot in the face. "Good, I'm glad you finally see things my way."_

Silver finally sat back down on her seat after she was sure the room had passed her thorough inspection of randomly appearing elves. It was safe for now. Draco took a sip of his morning tea to disguise his laughter.

After a bit of conversation, they each went up to their respective rooms to gear up for the cold weather that lie ahead. Silver made it out first and stood out in the snow covered garden, remembering how beautifully verdant it looked in the summer. A bird flew by and dropped a letter from its grip, letting it fall to the snow. She bent over to pick it up, patting it dry as best she could to see it was a letter from Harry.

"What's that?" a voice called out from behind her.

Silver hastily shoved it into her sleeve, "What's what?"

"The letter the owl just dropped off, just there."

"Oh, that wasn't an owl."

Draco looked at her waiting for a better explanation.

"It was a pigeon. Yeah, it umm confused the snow for the loo – if you know what I mean."

Draco was sorry he had asked.

Silver took his appearance in, noticing he had fixed his hair and freshened up a bit. "Finally, it took you long enough, pretty boy."

Draco grinned, "Oh so you think I'm pretty do you?" he taunted smoothly, winking for good measure.

"Shut up."

She walked a few steps ahead of him, thinking why it was that she could no longer find a witty comeback with him, so as a way to make herself feel better, she bent down and grabbed a piece of snow. It hurled in his direction, hitting his chest with a sharp chunk of ice cold.

He stared at her and said,"Really?"

She shrugged, quickly hitting him with another one. "Yes, really."

He seemed slightly put out by this, looks like he hadn't had some fun in a while.

"You can throw one back at me if you want, or I can just keep shooting them at you…" she teased, rolling up another ball of white snow, "Your choice really."

He didn't seem cognizant, except for the slight movement of his grey eyes hovering over her figure. She threw another at him, trying to shake him awake when suddenly, he made a snowball of his very own and tossed it right at her.

Silver grinned broadly and leapt off in a run to escape him, he followed suit. All the while, snowballs were being hurled across the snowy terrain back and forth from the blonde to the brunette tirelessly. That is, until Draco realized how far they had wandered off and abruptly stopped, Silver crashing straight into him.

"Ouch." She whined, her plans of gaining some sympathy from the boy put in motion. He immediately jerked his body around and steadied her by keeping a firm hold on each of her elbows.

"Alright there?" Draco smirked looking down at her, "We should go back, I don't know why but mum told me not to wander far.

And for the first time in my life, I think I might actually listen to her." He allowed himself a chortle.

"Wow, what a rebel."

He narrowed his eyes at her and turned her around, "Walk."

"Don't feel like it." she stubbornly crossed her arms, unmoving.

"Doesn't really matter how you feel now does it?"

"To me, it's actually a matter of great importance."

He scoffed, "Well I'll leave you behind then."

"I might not come back alive, Crabbe and Goyle would probably eat me for dinner."

"Yes, because you're so very appetizing."

"I'll take _that_ as a compliment."

"Take it as you will, but right now I can tell you where _I'm _ taking you." He gently took a hold of her waist from behind her and hoisted her up over his shoulder whilst she struggled in his grasp.

"That was a terrible excuse for a joke Malfoy!" she laughed, mostly because she was feeling rather ticklish in the waist, where he held her.

"Have it your way then." He set her down and began racing forward.

She opened her mouth widely in shock, but before long noticed how far he was now and ran as fast as she could over to him. She was lagging farther behind, mostly because he was a cheater, but she caught up to him when he paused outside the door of his back porch. She was about to run in, but he stretched out his hand to stop her, firmly keeping it on her waist yet again.

A woman with uncontrollably frizzy hair, which reminded Silver a lot of her Divinations Professor (just a iot scarier), stood leaning on a bookshelf tentative of the scene before her. All the while Narcissa was stepping closer towards her sister, in an almost defensive manner. The woman seemed untidy, and she wore old washed out striped robes. You had to be a complete fool to not recognize that they were the same robes prisoners received among being incarcerated -And Silver was no fool.

"Draco, dear, I didn't expect you back so soon." Narcissa said a bit nervously, not at all in her usual demeanor.

Draco gave his mother a skeptical look in a search for answers, but Narcissa didn't notice her son's pleading gazes – her very own eyes were kept fixedly set on Silver.

The woman laughed darkly, there was hint of insanity in that laugh, and it made the small hairs on the back of Silver's neck rise. "Draco how very, very nice it is to see you again," she held out her arms in an attempt to reach out to him, but frowned when he didn't return the enthusiasm, "What? Didn't you miss your Auntie Bella?"

Draco's body stiffened, his face the coldest it had been in a while. It was almost scary. But he never said anything, although his Auntie Bella wouldn't stop at prompting him for a response.

Once Bellatrix grew rather bored of attempting to get a viable riposte out of her nephew, she turned her scrutinizing gaze on the girl beside him. "Ah, lookie here – lil' Miss Crouch isn't it?"

Silver stood her ground, ready to defend herself but it proved unnecessary when Draco stepped in front of her protectively. His nerves were taut, and he was prepared to duel if things plummeted any further.

"Oh, how pleasant," her insane laugh echoed through the room, "Cissy, did you see that? Draco's making friends!" she said the last of it with a skip in her step.

"Draco has friends, Bella.." Narcissa murmured under her breath, a bit fretful.

That small defense was enough to cause Bellatrix to twist her head around at her sister, her penetrating stare cutting through her very exterior.

"Well, I am excruciatingly happy to hear that. Since lil' Crouch over here hasn't got any." She whimpered poorly, stepping closer to the girl – but Draco's stance never faltered. He stood decidedly in front of Silver but now he had his hand firmly clutched with hers.

"Well done, Draco, well done." Bellatrix paced back and forth in front of them, slowly studying them, "Not bad, I suppose. Wouldn't you agree Narcissa? She's still whole after all. Barty must've actually done _something_ right. I'd expected you to be in pieces after living with him for so long. Good for you."

Silver was fighting a losing battle in her head, whether she should stand up for herself or continue digging her nails into the palm of Draco's hand.

"Your poor father, respectable man he was, and still would be if he hadn't gotten _caught._" She spat venomously eyeing the girl closely, "He misses you, you know. He asked me to tell you to drop by before he…kicks the bucket."

Draco knew this wasn't carrying on well with Silver, he could understand how she was feeling from just the different degrees of pressure on his hand. He gently stroked his thumb over her hand for a second, as if helping her to calm down a bit, before Bellatrix spoke again.

"I do hope you'll ready if the Dark Lord ever chooses to come looking for a.._replacement._"

Silver felt as if cold blocks of ice had been dropped down her chest and into her stomach, "I would never.." she pushed Draco's hand out of the way but he quickly held her in place.

"She speaks!" her voice screeched throughout the library, "No, of course you wouldn't would you? It isn't in your blood of course." She sneered. "You are the very opposite aren't you? Just like mummy and daddy.."

"Bella." A calm voice interrupted her banter before it grew out of hand, "Your garments have arrived." Lucius glared at the party all standing defensively in the room, "You'll do best by ending this exchange and following me."

Bellatrix stopped promptly, in front of Draco, and stuck her tongue out at Lucius. "What a party pooper you are Lucius Malfoy..." She stepped ahead a few steps, but then suddenly swiveled her head around to meet Silver's meditative stare once more, "…The girl knows."

And with that, she exited the room.

Silver succumbed to Draco, clinging on the material of his shirt behind him and bringing the hand she had clasped in his to her mouth in terror. Draco immediately turned around to face her, her hands falling limply at her sides. He set his hands on her shoulders gingerly, examining her pale face and panicked eyes.

"I'm sorry about her, I didn't know she would be here." He whispered into her ear as he pulled her in closer. She wrapped her arms around his, urging him to do the same so she would feel reassured and safe again – the way she always did in his arms. He seemed to realize what she was doing, she thought, or maybe it was instinctive. But whatever it was, his arms never wavered in providing the protection she beckoned for.

Narcissa only stood as an onlooker, surveying the scene before her with a smile playing on her lips. If there was one thing she was thankful for, was her sister's threats and the way they had brought her son closer to Silver.

"Are you mad Bellatrix?" Lucius was outraged, he paced the area of his study glaring at the woman before him, "Even if you know, and I know, and bloody hell she knows we are foreboded to _silence." _His words started to sound more like a hiss than anything human.

"Blimey don't get your knickers in a bunch Lucius, it was all in good fun."

"Well that _fun_ isn't going to be occurring in my house!" he warned her sternly taking a step towards her.

He continued, "The Dark Lord may do as he wishes with her, but not in the presence of my wife and son. Am I clear Bellatrix?"

She rolled her eyes, almost seeming bored with his speech. "Yes, yes whatever. Now tell me, where are my clothes?"

"That woman isn't staying here is she?" Silver finally found her voice and was now screaming at the top of her lungs. Draco had dragged her into her room so she wouldn't be heard.

"Mum says she is."

"But she's supposed to be in Azakaban Draco!" she glowered, but then swallowed her words, "Did she break out? Oh god." She felt dizzy, but Draco provided a hand for her to steady herself with.

"She's my aunt Silver, and she's hiding here."

"Oh god."

"Voldermort's back, and the deatheaters are reemerging." He looked down at her, but she didn't seem to be comprehending.

"And how many others are coming?"

An owl whooshed into the room and dropped off a note at that very moment.

Silver's mouth widened, "I had to ask."

Draco urged her on to open it, but she insisted it was hardly the time for more bad news - out of fear that it might be a letter from Harry.

"You should get some sleep." He finally decided to say after a quiet pause.

"I can't sleep now."

"Neither can i" he agreed solemnly.

"Why wont you?" her brows were fixed questionably, "She's after me, not you." She laughed derisively.

The sound of rain pitter pattering at her window emanated the room as it grew stronger and harsher. The faint sound of a lighting striking nearby accompanied the tumultuous weather. Silver whimpered, she hated thunderstorms.

"I can stay here, if you'd like." He said, not answering her previous question.

She looked up at him with gratitude. "Maybe for a little."

They sat in silence for several minutes, simply listening to the rain hitting hard against the manor walls.

"D'you remember what would happen when storms like this came around?" Silver said softly, not quite sure if her cuddling up to him was a response to the cold weather or her longing to do so.

He seemed a bit put out by her sudden actions, but he was growing accustomed to her spontaneity. Especially at times like this, he rather liked it. A strand of her dark hair fell over his shoulder to his chest, barely a noticeable contrast between the black of his shirt and the color of her hair. He took the liberty of inhaling the sweet aroma of her hair before he collected himself enough to answer her question.

"You'd go up to mums room, frightened to tears."

She laughed shortly, "It was hard, you know.. my first night at Salem, I remember..."

He looked at her with a sudden thirst to know about the part of her life he was unaware of, "Why?"

"There was a thunderstorm, just like this one; and it was just..terrible. The entire day, from start to finish was frightening in itself, I was lost for most of it and then when I had actually managed to find my way around, I'd found out there were only five minutes 'til the last period was let out.

That's how I met Lucy."

He didn't know who Lucy was but he didn't want to interrupt.

"She saw me sitting alone in our dormitory, and asked me what the matter was. Figures she had been quite confused as well and ever since then, we've been inseparable. When the rain came later that night, I was scared and she was there for me, the same way she's always been."

Draco laid his head on top of hers in a sort of comforting way.

"I told her all about you, you know. About how much I missed you and Narcissa, that is."

Draco snickered, "I knew you missed me."

She nudged him in the ribcage.

"Ouch."

"You deserved it."

"No, I beg to differ - I think I've had quite a share of misfortune as well."

She felt goosebumps eradicate on her skin when he spoke."What do you mean?"

"it wasn't all that wonderful for me either. I really had - well, a miserable time when you left." He said quietly, "You - you were the only person who, I don't know, I actually got on well with I suppose."

He struggled for words, he wasn't at all good with these confession type things. But his is something he wanted to tell her, no matter how hard it would be to get the words out to sound like a full sentence.

"Really? But you and Parkinson get on so swimmingly." There was a slight tone of mockery in her voice.

"Ha. Funny. Always the funny one."

"Thank you." She grinned sheepishly.

He smiled, but of course she couldn't see it being as her head was under his. "Well, point is – I missed you too."

His head almost fell at the sudden movement of hers.

"I know it took a lot for you to say that Draco."

He turned his face away embarrassed. "Don't get used to it."

She surveyed the side of his face curiously before she cautiously pulled her hands up towards it; Once she had securely placed a hand on each side, cradling his face, she turned it to face her and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I wont."

She was about to jerk her hands away, but was caught off guard when he placed his on top of hers. His chest was heaving, partially because his heart was doing some sort of gymnastics routine in there, but despite the added pressure, he too reached for her face - but instead took her hand and slipped her fingers between his. "That is, unless you want to." He kissed her knuckles.

She wasn't quite sure what he was talking about anymore, all she heard was the pounding of her heart in her ears about to combust. It suddenly felt very hot in the room, despite how cold it was just a few seconds ago. "i…."

Then there was a loud knocking on the door and it flew straight open. She jerked her body and tried to move away from him, but he did quite the opposite by bringing her closer to him, clearly worried it might be his Aunt Bella.

It was Narcissa and she spoke so quickly, she didn't even have time to take in the sight before her, "Pack your things, both of you. You're leaving to the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow morning." Her face was sullen and worn, she appeared to have changed entirely from just the pass of a few days. The hidden stress of having her sister around seemed to be taking his toll on her. Her grey eyes were screaming out a million apologies, "Do not speak a word of this Silver, dear, please." She directed her gaze at her son, "Take care of each other, I'll write to you soon." And after another somber stare, she turned on her heel and exited the room leaving a pair of bewildered expressions in the room behind her.

-

"What do you mean there was a breach?" Remus Lupin asked Arthur Weasley, a bit derisively.

"Ten have escaped Azkaban Remus, _ten_." Arthur Weasley prompted in disbelief himself.

Sirius Black paced back and forth in the crammed study of their temporary residence at Grimmauld Place. "And ten devoted deatheaters nonetheless."

Remus breathed heavily, dislodging his worries. "Silver's at the Malfoy's isn't she?"

Sirius raised an untamed brow suspiciously.

"Where else would Bellatrix run to but to her sister, Sirius? It's obvious.."

Arthur Weasley digested the information, considereing whether it was legitimate enough to repeat the findings to the Ministry. Remus seemed to have noticed and addressed him, "I can't prove it enough for the MInistry to take it seriously but I still think it's true."

Sirius paced a little more and said, "Yes, yes..very valid indeed, Remus."

Arthur stared back at them, his head hunched in between his shoulders. "Is it hopeless to think that Malfoy's son would have some good in his black soul.." he didn't finish the sentence, recognizing how ridiculous it sounded.

Remus looked down at his shabby dress pants pensively. "There's always hope Arthur, always hope - even if it's just a small bit of it."

Sirius snorted. "That Draco Malfoy is just as cold and empty as his father is."

Lupin, who had been devoted to keeping an eye on Silver since she had been tossed over to the malicious hands of Barty Crouch Jr., had witnessed the other, softer side of a younger Draco Malfoy and felt some comfort in the idea. "I wouldn't be so sure my friend."

Sirius didn't look convinced, "Well now that we've decided to leave Silver in the clutches of the ever so sweet Malfoy family, the next question would be - Do we tell Harry about this?"

Arthur shook his head but it was Remus who answered, "I think Harry's got enough on his plate as it is."

"Right then." Sirius ducked his head and walked over to the fireplace.

"They'll be alright, Sirius." Remus prompted, sensing his friends displeasure, "The both of them...for Lilly and James's sake - they will be."

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	29. Azkaban

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**Azkaban**

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Morning dawned bright and heavy the morning before the train for Hogwarts was set to take off. Unwelcome beams of sunlight peeked through the thin blinds hanging from the window, lighting the dark guest room of the Leaky Cauldron. Silver stirred awake in a cold sweat. It was another nightmare she had. Ever since her stay at the Leaky Cauldron, she had been having repeated nightmares but not once had she woken up to any memory of them. All she knew was that they were awful, she'd even found herself crying one morning.

They were dark, cold, and empty. She knew this because it's how she felt whenever she had just dreamt of one. And when she would finally come back to reality, she felt trapped – like there was a box around her and there was no way out. But once she had lit the candle on the nightstand beside her, she knew it wasn't real.

But today was different, this morning she had a bit more reconnaissance on what had happened.

It was so clear, the surroundings, the smell – the horror. She was in a dark, cold room. There wasn't a peek of light anywhere, it was just black. But amongst the darkness she saw it, she saw the same hooded ghostly figure of a flying black cloak and then everything went cold. The same way she had felt the night she was attacked at Hogwarts.

Her research led her to discover these awful creatures were known as dementors and their sole purpose was as guards in Azkaban. But why they kept haunting her was tormenting.

Her mind would drift off to Professor McGonagall's words when Draco and her had been eavesdropping on the professors' conversation outside, she asked whether the dementor had been confused. But the question was, confused with whom?

Then another portion she remembered from the dream was a voice, a familiar voice. It might've been her fathers, she was almost sure – but it was urgent, pleading her to visit.

She rummaged through the drawers in her bedside table and pulled out a tattered piece of parchment, it was the letter she had refused to read in front of Draco a few days ago. Good thing she chose not to, it was from Barty and it was a physical representation of her dreams. In this letter he too asked for her to come see him.

There was a small tap on the door and it creaked open, causing Silver to jerk her head up and pull the comforter over her night gown.

"You alright Silver?" he let himself in, walking over to her to take a seat on the edge of the four poster bed.

Silver nodded, "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

He looked at her with concern, "You were screaming just a minute ago."

"What?" She didn't quite understand him, she wasn't screaming – was she?

He tightened his lips into a thin line, "You don't remember?"

Silver shook her head slowly, almost like if she was trying to force herself to remember.

"Not a thing."

She of course hadn't told him about the dreams, she didn't want to worry him. There really as no need after all. They might just be a result of stress or something of the sort.

He stared at her blankly, he still wasn't used to this whole _caring_ business. It was quite hard for him to show.

She smiled warmly to ease his affliction, "I'm fine, really. But I could be better with some breakfast."

He heaved a sigh of relief, finally something he was good at it. "Well c'mon then you good for nothing! Still in bed acting like you're the Queen of somewhere that matters."

She grabbed the pillow behind her and tossed it right at him.

"Why are you always lunging things at me?"

She smirked, "You cant act like you don't deserve it."

Witches, Wizards, and dwarves alike, guests of the Leaky Cauldron, had occupied nearly every table of the dining area when Draco and Silver came down to eat. Draco led the way as they walked down in between tables when a man who recognized him stood up and offered him his seat. Draco nodded his head in thanks and gestured Silver to sit down.

"Who was that?" Silver asked, curious.

"Oh no one really, just a friend of father's."

Well that wasn't good. But she was too hungry to linger upon it any longer, as soon as breakfast was served, she scarfed it down as fast she could. She had a tiresome urge in the pit of her stomach, it was a strange request to ask herself. She couldn't get rid of the idea of going to Azkaban to visit Barty. It was partly because of her concern for him, he must be going through a terrible time, and partly because of the adventure and curiosity of Azkaban; Although a visit there shouldn't be considered an adventure at all.

As she waited patiently for Draco to finish, she found it impossible to get rid of the protruding thought. It had her stomach in knots, so she decided she had to go today. She wouldn't procrastinate it any longer.

She told Draco she would be right back, and rushed up to her room. She longed for Lucy to accompany her more than anything else, but she knew it would be nearly impossible for her to make it to London in such short notice. Floo powder didn't work properly overseas, so she would have to take a boat or a flying carriage that she probably wouldn't have at hand right away. The same principle applied for Rupert. Luna was in Scotland, and she would hate to interrupt the last day of her holiday for something such as this - But if she recalled correctly, Dominic wasn't doing anything particularly interesting.

So she wrote to them both, rather urgently pleading for their immediate response. Now she would have to get rid of Draco, she hadn't even considered him an option fearing that it would be too dangerous for him. There are more than enough deatheater's incarcerated in Azkaban that would be more than pleased at the sight of a Malfoy there.

He was still sitting, waiting for her to return and caught her eye as she approached him.

"Draco, Luna Lovegood has just written to me – she wants to meet at Diagon alley to spend the day there."

Draco was reproachful, but was careful with his words, "And you _want_ to spend the day with Looney?"

"She's not Looney Draco, she can be at times a bit….different, but that's all." Silver said in a reprimanding tone.

"Right, well then I think I'll go off to meet Blaise. What time should you be back?"

She shrugged, "Depends on when you'll be back."

"I'd say about seven, we haven't packed yet." He looked slightly distressed.

"'Alright." She smiled and gave his hand a tight squeeze before she exited.

The journey was long to say the least. At the end it was Luna who had answered her call, and she provided transportation. It was invisible to Silver, she couldn't see the creature at all – but Luna assured her that it was right before her very eyes.

"You see," Luna began, placing her hand mid air looking as if she were petting something, "they're called thestrals. I suppose you can't see them because, you haven't seen a person die. I saw my mum die you see, that's why they're as visible to me as you are." She didn't seem at all bothered by the memory and continued, "I've found two, they can fly us over to Azkaban."

Silver had no choice really but to tell Luna why it was so important for her to go. Although she didn't partake in reality as much as a normal person would, she was a very good friend. Silver knew that Luna wouldn't tell a single soul about it.

"Alright, just show me how to get on." Silver was anxious to get out of the forbidden forest, it wasn't one of the safest places to be at without the supervision of a professor.

Luna showed her where to sit, and sure enough she felt as if there was actually something underneath her when she did. Once the blonde had done the same, they were off. The journey was long to say the least, they passed busy city streets, towering buildings that were nearly tall enough to reach the clouds, they even had an incident with an airplane once. Soon they travelled far off of the city and into the countryside, then the land became more barren and vacant – until it became a large body of water. Nothing was seen for miles, it was just the ocean spreading thousands of miles all around them. She'd never felt more alive, away from the world. Silver felt as if she was flying (since the creature beneath her was invisible in her eyes).

Snow was still falling, but it only grew into a gentle drizzle of snowflakes which gently touched her cheeks as she flew through the sky. But the calm water soon grew rougher, violent even. And up ahead, on an island far away stood a fortress, a large squared box like building. Silver looked over at Luna to notice she was also staring at the massive building with wide eyes.

"Azkaban." Luna said in her lazy tone, but her eyes told otherswise.

The ancient stone building was held up strong by security standing two feet apart from the other, an indestructible barrier. Waves were crashing violently on the rocks surrounding the fortress – sounding more like a hissed warning than a pleasant sound of nature. For a second, Silver thought of the reason _why _she had even bothered to comply with the owl Barty had sent to her. She wanted to step back, go back to the safety of Hogwarts or the Leaky Cauldron– tell Draco what the letter she had hidden away contained. But it was too late; there was no turning back now. She felt a slight nudge of her wrist and turned her fearful eyes to the girl standing beside her.

"I'll wait for you right here, promise." Luna said, her voice squeaking before she composed herself. "You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to Silver." For a second, her words seemed so convincing – she _could_ just leave. But curiosity overwhelmed the fear that was carousing through her body. Silver hugged Luna tightly. "I have to go – even it's just for a second, I'll be fine." She said into her friend's wild blond hair desperately making herself believe her words.

Silver pulled away and Luna nodded, adding a few more encouraging words before Silver pressed on to the intimidating building. As she reached the iron gates a centaur placed the horse-half of his body in her path.

"What is your business here?" he said calmly, after all this was just daily routine for him.

"I've received an owl from my father, Barty Crouch Jr.; he said he had arranged with the ministry a visit from me, Silver Crouch." She said choking on the words. Maybe Barty was wrong. Hopefully the centaur didn't let her in.

"This way." He said, causing her stomach to sink and her throat to twist in knots.

She followed the guard as he passed through halls full of more and more guards. Dwarfs, Wizards, other centaurs – they came in all shapes and sizes but one thing in common, they all stared at her as she walked by. Every one of them. A cloaked man looked at her in astonishment – as if he had been waiting his whole life to see her; another looked at her in dread, sadness etching the hollows of his eyes. She was feeling frantic - the caves she was being lead through began to grow darker and darker until there was no sign of illumination, except for the wooden stake the centaur held tightly, lit at the tip by a flame of light. She rubbed her bare arms roughly, trying to calm the surfacing goose bumps, as she felt her grey converse tugging onto the ripped edges of her faded jeans – which were now completely covered in a muddy substance. The silent darkness surrounded her as she moved forward until she was walking just behind the mane of her guide. He looked at her closely and noticed her uneasiness.

"Just a few more steps miss." He added in an effort to calm her. She couldn't find the words for a response in her state of alarm. The terror of the dungeons was all she could think of, and she knew this wasn't even the worse part. A sort of shallow relief consumed her when they approached a large bronze door that seemed to have come out of nowhere. The centaur took out a long, slender wand and tapped on the door three times when a small slot opened directly facing his eye level. A set of peering eyes scanned the two of them and the slot closed shut harshly. The polished doors swung open into a large waiting room with marble flooring and a series of granite desks, each one occupied with a set of eyes that landed on her in an instant. She followed the centaur to a desk towards the back of the vast room and he murmured something to the tall man in the desk.

He shuffled out of his seat and handed Silver an envelope while an elf trailed behind her, cleaning the mud tracks she left behind.

"Ms. Crouch, Please take this with you at all times. If you need _anything_ open it and you'll be apparated back over here within seconds." His words shot at her like daggers; that certainly didn't sound the least bit reassuring.

She was once again at a loss for words. Nodding her head, he swiftly flicked his wand and a cloud of black overwhelmed her. Drops of water dripped down from a leaky faucet, the sound brought her back to the present as she felt her body re-composing. She landed on the hard stone floor and a guard hit the floor with a large wooden stick.

"Make haste miss. You're lookin' for cell 0989. Walk straight ahead and Crouch is gonna be on your left five doors down." He stared down at her and became annoyed with her responsiveness. "Be on your wit, dementors are floatin' around by the holding cells."

Her legs carried her up and she patted down her white v-neck which was now fully rimmed with the same gunk on her shoe. She stammered her thanks to the guard, wanting to ask him what dementors were – but decided against it. Her arms crossed in front of her after she pushed her muddy bangs aside. 0984…0985…0986…0987…her head darted around as she read the small signs next to the metal doors, 0988……_0989._ Her stomach dropped so heavily, she wasn't sure it would find its way back. A dirty pale hand reached out of a small hole in the middle of the barrier. She gripped herself tighter, walking over to the opening which upon close inspection was covered in small steel bars.

Her knees went weak as she peered through the small opening to lay her eyes on _him._ He hissed in glory at the sight of her. "Silver, you came – as I told you."

She simply nodded, not quite sure what to say. He snickered cynically and lay both of his hands on the bars, but quickly repelled them in pain.

"Do you see?" he said to himself. "Do you see where they've put me?" a little louder this time. "You'd think they'd have better accommodations to those who are waiting to _die._" His voice continued to grow hoarser and increase in volume, as if he wanted the whole jail to hear. "Its dark – always dark. Dementors have sucked the life out of any bit of happiness I had left." Hatred engulfing his words. A dementor nearby flew above them sending Barty into a fit of maniacal giggles. "There he is. My dear, dear _friend._" He spat venomously.

She was set still in her spot – she couldn't move. The atmosphere, Barty's words – It was all _too much._ Her left leg shifted, sending her weight onto her right. He stared at her, penetrating her mind – sending chills up and down the hairs on the back of her neck.

"I'm s-s-orry." She shivered.

His eyes filled in rage. "_You're_ sorry?!" he moved away from the opening and hit a wall inside his cell before his face filled the small space once again. What did he expect her to _say_? Don't worry I'll team up with Lucius Malfoy and a few other Deatheater's and have you out of this place in a jiffy.

His eyes settled as he took long, easy breaths. "Come closer."

She hesitated, the envelope wrinkling under her grip and took a step forward. His filthy hands motioned for her to come closer, and closer – until she was directly facing him.

"I need a favor from you my dear." He hissed, so the dementors couldn't hear. "I _need_ you to get me out of here." He grabbed onto the collar of her shirt before she had a chance to escape. "You OWE me."

She shook her head in terror. "I don't owe you anything!" she cried in desperation.

His eyes cocked wildly. "I took you in for ten years! I fed you and gave you a home. _You owe me!" _ he yelled into her terrorized evergreen eyes, his breath nipping at her face.

"I did you a favor," she hissed.

"RUBBISH!" he clung onto her collar tighter, almost choking her.

"You were going to be sent to Azkaban. If I hadn't come along you would have died _years ago_." She was shaking, but kept her face under control. If it was one thing she had learned from the man trying to strangle her now was how to keep a cold demeanor.

Anger and Rage boiled in his veins. "You _ungrateful _–" his face becoming beet red, his teeth glowering as if he were a mad dog with rabies. "Get me out of here, or I'll kill you!"

A dementor flew into his cell pushing him backwards into the darkness dragging Silver along with him. Her face crashed violently into the bolted door sending a trickle of blood down her cheek. The envelope flew out of her hands as she grabbed Barty's wrists, trying to release their grip on her neck. Her hands thrashed around his clenched wrists as her face scratched against the door.

"LET ME GO, STOP IT!" she began to yell in despair, tears streaming freely out of her clouding vision. "I can't breathe!" her voice began to die out alongside her determination to escape. Her pained sobs echoed off the walls disturbing the silence around her. "Father…" she choked out as her heart rate decreased slowly. He released his grip as his screams began to drown out her choked panting. Her head fell hard against the stone floor rendering her unconscious after she felt around the rocky ground for the envelope and slid it open.

-

The clock struck seven.

Draco kept a watchful eye on the thick silver watch on his wrist, only averting his gaze when he would hear the sound of footsteps outside of his hotel room. He'd had quite a bit of a stressful day with Blaise Zabini, he was hoping for a bit of relaxation before school started up again - but instead, he provided quite the opposite.

_"I think we've gotten closer to finding out what Potter's up to, don't you mate?" Blaise probbed Draco, but easily continued without receiving an answer first, "Pansy and I have been thinking about it - we've got a plan. Wait til' we get on the train tomorrow and we'll both fill you in. It's bloody brilliant if you ask me."_

_Blaise looked off at his friend, whom seemed quite put out by something, "What's gotten into you? You've barely said a word all day."_

_Draco shook his head, almost as if he had just awoken from a trance and passed a cursory glance at his friend. In truth, he was quite worried about how impromptu he was kicked out of his own house by his mother urgently asking him to take Silver elsewhere. Something was going on that she wasn't telling him, and that something didn't seem very good._

_"Tired, that's all. Can't wait to hear it - Potter has it coming he does." Draco said a bit maliciously, "Thinks he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants."_

_Blaise grinned, happy to hear the old Draco once again. "I reckon he's up to some valiant and heroic sort of deed. He can't pass a year without taking some sort of spotlight. Boy's got a bit of an unhealthy obsession with some need for attention."_

_"I couldn't agree more Blaise." Draco sneered, "But not this year, after all we've got Umbridge on our side - things are going to take a definite turn, i think."_

_"Right you are."_

He'd moved past it, his spiteful hatred towards Harry Potter that is. But it seemed that whenever he was with Blaise, or any other of his friends - it would never fail to resurface. He was quite comftorable with Silver, being at peace away from the world with just her. But there was now a hole in that bubble he had formed, and it was steadily growing larger and larger until it pops completely tomorrow.

He looked down at his watch again, it read eight-thirty. She might be in her room, he thought to himself so he hoisted himself off his bed frame and headed across the hall for her room. A bitter looking woman stood outside the door with a trolley full of cleaning supplies - she was the maid. the woman turned the keyhold and locked the door shut.

"Is someone in there?" Draco asked quickly, forgetting his manners.

The woman craned her neck upwards to look at him, "No sir, no ones been there all day."

Draco looked after her as she walked away feeling a bit desperate. He stood there for a few minutes before he was struck with an idea. The front desk, he would try checking in with the man at the front desk. Running down the stairs with a fresh surge of optimism, he finally made it, but not without knocking a few people down first. The dining area of the Leaky cauldron was full, as it usually was. The damp air stuck to his skin unpleasntly and he rolled up the sleeves of his black turtleneck to cool himself off. He as just aboutt to reach the desk when he noticed a familiar face standing by a table. It was looney Lovegood and she seemed to be searching for something, or someone.

He continued walking, ignoring her.

"Draco Malfoy." a small feeble voice called out behind him.

He rolled his eyes, recognizing the airy voice as Luna's and didn't even bother turning around.

"Malfoy!" She called again, sounding closer this time. And then he felt a small tug on his elbow.

He jerked his arm away and turned around so suddenly, she almost fell backwards.

"And what do you want Looney? I hope it something life threatning because I wouldn't reckon any other reason why you'd be speaking to me." Draco scoffed, looking around the room to make sure no one was looking. This was _embarassing._

Luna's large eyes landed on his, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Funny you should mention that." Luna began to speak. "You see, there's been a bit of a mishap you could say. Although, Silver's alright just a bit - "

"Where is she? Where's Silver?"

"Well, right now, she's at the infirmary at Hogwarts - but no need to worry she's better. Much better than she was, yes."

"Better from what? Why is she in the hospital?" his voice cracked.

"I'll explain on the way." Her dreamy expression curled into a reassuring smile.

He could kill her for smiling at a time like this, but he decided he needed her to get there and he would killl her afterwards. The room began to feel a lot more crowded than it was, and it seemed smaller too. It was hot, he knew this because he was sweating and he was struggling to breathe. But the thing was, how could it be so unusually warm admist a snowstorm?

His mind engaged in a series of flashbacks, memories of when they were younger, practicing minor spells on each other, to the first time they laid eyes at Hogwarts. Her smile, her hair, her smell, the way he would soothe him and allow him to forget all the troubles of the world. If anything happened to her....but he blocked out the thought. Nothings to happen because he simply isn't allowing it.

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	30. Treachery

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**Treachery**

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There was noise, a lot of noise. Murmurs and babbles ringing in her ears, but she couldn't open her eyes, not just yet – they felt so heavy.

But then the buzzing grew louder and clearer. It took all the strength within her to flutter her eyelids open slightly, and when she did the buzzing stopped and grew into hesitant silence. Where was she?

The first to speak was a girl and her voice came out a bit shaky, "Is she – Is she waking up? Did you see that? I saw it. Her eyes they opened for a second didn't they? Did anyone else notice?"

The deeper murmur of a boy followed right after, "Yes they did but doesn't make much of a difference, they're closed again see?"

"She's alright, Silver. I know she will, just a feeling I have." A dreamy voice seemed to have calmed the lot of them.

She fluttered her eyes open again, and this time long enough to see the crowd around her.

Blake Trench jumped about three feet in the air, unable to contain her joy but Dominic Dates held her in place and said, "Careful." In a low voice, "Don't frighten her."

"We come back from holiday to find you ill at the infirmary, Silver I've been worried sick! You haven't the slightest idea of how awful I felt when I heard what had happened. How are you feeling? Are you alright? No, don't strain yourself answering that, I'm just so glad you're finally awake." Blake said breathlessly, as if she had just released an enormous burden off her chest.

Silver tried to curl her lip into a smile but withdrew immediately at the sudden sting she felt.

"Oh no dear, don't…" Savannah Marietti held her hand out to stop her only causing Silver to look even more confused.

"You see, you've got quite a scratch there love." Dominic's said soothingly as he pushed a stray strand of hair away from Silver's face.

"It's not permanent is it?" Silver frowned, dreading that it would leave an ugly mark on her face.

"You don't have to worry about that, I reckon Madam Pomfrey has something she can conjure up to make it invisible." Luna Lovegood smiled, staring into empty space.

Silver felt a bit more at ease with this, but she still didn't remember what had happened or how she'd ended up there. Determined for answers, she looked around the room to notice the white walls and multiple beds that she recognized to the hospital wing at Hogwarts. She reached up to touch her neck and felt the brittle yet cushioned material of gauze around her neck.

"That's just there to prevent infection from getting into the er..scratches on your neck." Blake said, answering her silent question.

"Scratches? Did a cat try to tear my face off?"

"Well, no, not exactly." Blake said, trying to wander off subject.

Silver stared at her friends, noticing Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein behind Luna.

"It's really not important, what matters is that you heal as quickly as possible."

Lucinda Lyons pushed her way between Dominic and Blake, "What? You mean you don't remember? The whole school knows.." she couldn't finish her sentence because Dominic slapped his hand over her mouth to stop her from speaking, but Silver had heard more than enough.

"Dominic.." Silver addressed him, knowing that he wouldn't have it in him to lie to her.

He looked hesitant, and he glanced over at Luna beside him. Luna grabbed his hand and gave It a quick squeeze before she took the liberty of answering for him. "You asked me to take you to Azkaban to see Barty Crouch.."

Dominic interrupted, "Do you remember that far Silver?"

She answered him by nodding her head.

"Right, then continue Luna."

"And so we went, I waited for you outside – like I promised you I would, you see. But an hour passed, and then another and I was growing rather worried because – you hadn't come out yet, and I found it odd that you hadn't."

Silver remembered now what had happened, Barty nearly choked her from his cell. She shuddered, suddenly feeling cold and inched her hands up towards her neck. She grimaced as if she were reliving the pain.

Luna continued, "The guards told us what happened. He said, he got a bit rough – out of line; And so thankfully, you signaled them before and they were able to apparate you over here, to Hogwarts." Her pale blue eyes drifted around the room and then back in focus. "Do you want me to bring you some pudding perhaps?"

"Pudding?" Blake wasn't at all pleased, but put on a smile for Silver, "We have to run off to Defense Against the Dark Arts or..well….we need not mention what terrible things await us if we dare upset Snape."

Silver understood completely, Snape wasn't one to be trifled with and he especially loathed tardiness. "Go ahead, I'll wait, right here."

The group of Ravenclaw's all exited the room, some looking back at Silver to make sure she was still alright and wouldn't fall into another pit of trouble. Blake frowned with her last look at Silver before she exited the room while Dominic smiled warmly at her assuring her he'd be back.

The room was empty now, all except for Madam Pomfrey and another student she faintly recognized.

"First day back and you've already roasted your arm in Potions, Longbottom." The stout woman was busy bandaging up his red arm as Longbottom whimpered.

"I don't see how you've managed to do that with Umbridge banning the use of magic in her class." Madam Pomfrey continued to reprimand the boy when he looked up to meet Silver's stare.

Now she recognized him. It was Neville Longbottom, a Gryffindor from her year – he'd always managed to get himself in sticky situations; it was what he was known for after all. And another known fact about him was that he was also part of Dumbledore's army, which meant they'd already had their first lesson back. It was the only way he would've hurt himself in the non-magic environment that was now Hogwarts.

His round face brightened into a cheeky grin and she smiled in return. He seemed to have known exactly what she was thinking because he quickly mouthed to her, _tonight, _which she took to meaning that they were all meeting tonight, and hopefully she was well enough to be freed by then.

Madam Pomfrey glanced over at her direction, visibly stiffening her shoulders, which gave Silver an unsettling feeling.

"Oh, you're awake I see. Lovely." The woman broadened her lips into half of a smile quite hesitantly before she approached her. "I've given you a potion to erase the scars on your neck and face, also works numbing the pain." she looked down at a notepad she slipped out of a pocket in her apron. "I'll take the bandages off in a few hours, you'll be out of here before dinner."

Silver smiled with great relief. _What a bad move that was_, she thought to herself. What had gotten into her that day at the Leaky Cauldron? What possessed her with the urge to go see him? Had she gone mad? All she could come up with was that the nigtmares she had previously, were almost exactly like what happened at Azkaban.

"You're awake now are you?" Draco Malfoy pushed the hangings from around her bed aside. He was dressed in his Slytherin school robes and carried a book in his left arm, then designated himself to sit by the chair placed beside her.

Her heart fluttered with excitement at the sight of him, she couldn't help grinning widely. "Yeah, I didn't think it would turn out to be _that_ hard of a blow…"

"It shouldn't have been a blow at all." He frowned, growing serious, "You've been out for _three_ days Silver. _Three."_ His voice was almost pleading.

"You serious? It's been that long?"

He only nodded, not looking at her. It was obvious he was upset she hadn't told him anything about the visit, and to tell you the truth – she wasn't sure how well he was to look past this. A quality he valued most in his life was trust, and she had just nearly ruined theirs.

"Draco, I'm sorry, I just – I didn't want to worry you.."

He glanced over at her with cold eyes and an unconvinced expression.

"I know I should've told you something, but look everything 's alright now isn't it? I'll be out of the hospital in a few hours Madam Pomfrey just told me."

"That's not the point. I trust you most out of nearly everyone else and you couldn't even tell me where you were really going? Really nice, Silver. Really nice."

"it was foolish, and I shouldn't have done it. Believe me, you haven't the slightest idea how many times I wished it was you there next to me. I would've felt loads safer and a lot less cowardly."

For this his expression softened a bit, _I wished it was you there next to me_, she said. His stomach tightened, and his throat twisted into a knot. "And I wish more than anything that I would've been there to do that for you."

She searched for his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Don't be mad at me."

He ducked his head as if he were in deeply involved in his thoughts and said, "It's impossible to be cross with you."

He moved closer to her to pass his hand through her bandaging, he moved from the one on her neck up to her face, lingering on her cheek.

"How could they allow this to happen? What are the dementors for huh? It's clear they aren't doing their jobs very will isn't it?"

"He wasn't happy when he saw me." She felt the sensation that she was pushing back a sob. "he brought me there so I could take him out, find a way to free him. I can't _do_ that."

Draco snorted, "Don't have to worry about that, he's gone. He managed to escape."

She gasped, clutching her hands over her mouth. "No."

"Hogwarts has tightened security. They aren't letting anything in. And neither will I."

They'd both forgotten about the third person in the room. Neville Longbottom was still in the hospital wing watching from his bed, until he nearly fainted from hearing the news landing on the floor with a thud.

Draco rolled his eyes, "That Longbottom's the most girlish boy I've ever met."

Madam Pomfrey ran clean across the room shouting his name. "Mr. Longbottom, oh my, Mr. Longbottom!"

After a few minutes, Draco left for the same reason as the others, it was time for class. She shuddered at the thought of being left alone. Now she surely couldn't wander anywhere unaccompanied, if Barty escaped Azkaban, what would stop him from getting into Hogwarts?

Watching the scene before her was a bit entertaining though, it took her mind off of it for a bit. Pomfrey had just managed to hoist Neville back up to his bed, whom was nearly twice her size. He had paled dramatically, and was now beginning to reawaken. "Gave me quite a scare there Longbottom." The woman told him as she looked at Silver from the corner of her eye.

Once she was sure Neville was settled safely in bed, she walked towards Silver and began to remove her bandages. "There we go, good as new." She said, rolling it up to form a round oval shape, "Now hurry off to class, you'll just be a bit late but here, just give the professor this note."

And with that Silver took the note from the woman, kindly thanking her for taking care of her, but in truth, the woman seemed to be a bit frightened of her. She dismissed the thought and waved goodbye at Neville. There weren't any other patients at the infirmary, which indeed was a sign of non magical activity occurring at the school. She looked down at the note the nurse had just given her and noticed it was addressed to Professor Snape, which means that it was time for Potions. And something told her Snape didn't particularly enjoy tardiness, even if it was from a student who had fallen ill.

The doors of the hospital wing opened to the main area of the school, now she had to walk several flights of stairs to make it down to her least favorite portion of the castle, the dungeons. She continued her journey to the classroom when she began to notice hisses and murmurs emerging around her, looking around, she noticed there wasn't a single soul that could've caused it.

"Shouldn't even be allowed in the school." A man's voice sounded from her left.

She turned her head quickly, desperately trying to reassure herself she wasn't losing her marbles. And of that she wasn't, for it was the portraits conversing amongst each other. She ignored him, they're always babbling rubbish.

But then she heard a woman, "She's probably as dangerous as he is."

She turned her head again, this time staring at the portrait of the Victorian woman who spoke. The woman looked away and whispered something at the other woman beside her, which was bent over doing laundry.

She squirmed, dropping the smock, "Don't look her in the eye Isabel!"

They both ran to the nearest shelter, hiding behind the well the woman was previously using for her laundry.

Silver was baffled, they couldn't possibly be talking about her, could they?

"Excuse me, ma'am? What's going on?" Silver said with great decorum.

"Eep!" the second woman squealed while the first woman seemed to feel more valiant and peeked through the top of the stony well.

"You helped Barty Crouch Jr. escape from Azkaban, you traitor!"

"What!"

"He's loose, but of course you already know that don't you?" the second woman spoke, never showing her face.

She couldn't even begin to fathom what she had just been accused of. Barty had nearly choked her and she resisted his pleads, never wavering.

"I didn't do anything."

The woman now seemed a bit cockier than before, "Humph, I would like to see you try to persuade the rest of the school with _that_."

Silver felt sick to her stomach. How much more could she possibly endure? She didn't even notice she had already reached the classroom, it had been almost as if she had switched to auto pilot and her legs automatically trudged to where her presence belonged.

She pushed the door open, causing it to release a squeaky sound and an annoyed Professor Snape to stop his lecture. "You're late." He drawled.

She didn't answer him, simply walked as quickly as possible to him and handed him the note, then taking her seat next to Draco. Snape's eyes looked down past his hooked nose onto the parchment before him and grunted.

"As I was saying, your O.W.L's will consist mainly on.."

After that, she completely tuned him out because she started noticing the curious glances she was receiving in her direction. She couldn't face them and so instead she looked at Draco, whom was already looking back at her. He slowly ran his hand down the table and squeezed her fingers. And it was as if nothing else mattered, she instantaneously felt better and as long as she had him to fall back on, everything would be alright.

But what they ddint notice was the expressions of varied degrees of shock plastered on everyone's faces when he did that, because those who were already staring were a witness and those who weren't were undoubtedly informed by the students who were - Harry, Ron, and Hermione included.

Once the lesson had dragged on for long enough, Professor Snape dismissed the class with two papers, both due by next week. Silver was collecting her things when Ron Weasley tapped her from behind.

"I'm glad your alright." He said smiling hesitantly as he watched Draco standing beside her, whom was also in the process of fitting a book in his backpack.

Silver smiled at Ron and then at Hermione. "Really? You two don't hate me too, do you?"

Hermione tightened her lips into a thin line and went forward to whisper something at her, "We already _knew_ remember?" she darted her eyes back at Harry whom was occupied talking to Cho Chang.

Silver had completely forgotten Harry had told them everything. She'd been so stressed out lately, she wasn't even sure if her brain was still functioning correctly. Silver sighed.

Draco seemed to be finishing up as had already flung his backpack on his shoulder.

"I'll tell you everything tonight." Silver said as softly as she could so Draco wouldn't hear but Ron and Hermione would. They seemed to have understood because they both nodded and walked off ahead of them.

Silver inherited a distinct interest to the the dirty rocky floor of the dungeons beneath her as she walked with Draco, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of it.

"Does the entire school hate me?" Silver finally looked up to meet his eyes.

Draco sighed raising his hand to the back of his neck, "Well I'd say they like just about as much as they like me."

"So they completely loathe me?"

"They think you freed a deatheater from Azkaban, I look like a sweet bit of marshmallow compared to you at the moment."

"How did everything turn out so badly Draco…?"

"I think we're backwards here? Shouldn't I be the one brooding about my disheveled life while you try to put back the pieces?" Draco said trying to cheer her up.

She laughed shortly. "Your right. So then this is all your fault isn't it? You've infected me with your bad luck!"

Draco wasn't sure whether this was a joke or not because he almost felt guilty into thinking that might've actually happened. She took a hold of his hand, "..But don't worry, I can live with it."

"They'll soon realize it's just a foul rumor, you wont have to live with it much longer, I promise." Draco said, interlocking his fingers with hers not realizing there were onlookers.

"Do you think they're going out?" Millicent Bulstrode asked the girl beside her as they walked a few feet behind Draco and Silver, on Pansy's request.

"They can't, it couldn't be." Pansy shook her head as she spoke, keeping her eyes fixed on the scene ahead of her.

"It very much could be Pansy and you know it. You know, I reckon it's because she freed Barty or whatever. He probably thinks she's completely brilliant for doing that."

Luna Lovegood skipped right by them, almost knocking Pansy to the floor, "Watch where you're walking you loonatic!" she cried angrily.

"Calm down Pansy, it's alright she didn't see you."

"Don't tell me to calm down Millie, what's gotten into you? Who do you think you're talking to?"

Millicent whimpered, "I didn't mean it like that Pans."

"I should hope not." Pansy said as she straightened her robes.

Luna ignored them, and continued her path down the corridors when she spotted Silver and Draco, holding hands.

"Hello Silver," she smiled, "I'm glad they've already let you out."

Silver instantly brightened at the sight of her, "Thank you for everything Luna." She said, hugging her, what she now considered, very trustworthy friend.

"Not a problem." She pulled away and noticed Draco, "Good afternoon Malfoy."

Malfoy nod his head in acknowledgment of her greeting but said no more.

"C'mon we have to get down to the Dining hall, it's a matter of urgency." Luna grabbed Silver's hand, pulling her forward.

Silver laughed, "Alright, alright. I'll see you in a bit Draco." She smiled and then went off to follow Luna.

It was a bit too early for lunch, mostly because students were still socializing in the halls or discussing school matters with their professor's after class. There was just a small portion of the Ravenclaw table filled with familiar faces Silver recognized. Blake, Savannah, Lucinda, Dominic, and terry all beamed when Silver walked through the doors and cried out in cheers.

Silver could cry. Her friends believed her and supported her one hundred percent. She had nothing to worry about. Dominic was the first to stand up and lock in her in a bone crushing hug, "they think you're the mastermind behind Crouch's escape? Oh, that's because they don't know you love. You'd never be the mastermind of anything." Dominic smiled into her hair. She laughed and tightened her embrace.

"Alright you two break it up! The girl's got to eat, look at her she's skin and bones!" Savannah called out sounding very concerned of her appearance.

"Oh please Savannah, she's always been thin." Blake retorted.

"Yes, Blake, I agree she has always been thin. But right now she would pass as a ghost. Come eat!"

Silver did as she was told right after she went around giving each of her friends a quick hug. Savannah stuck a plate of food in front of her, urging her on to eat. The rest did the same, and began munching on their sandwiches and pie.

"Don't believe what anyone says Silver," Lucinda said very decidedly, for a first year, "After all we're the smartest aren't we? That is why we're in Ravenclaw."

"That is the most brilliant thing you have ever said my friend." Terry smacked his fist on the table.

Lucinda blushed, and Savannah noticed. "You never tell me I'm brilliant Terry…" She frowned.

Terry already knew how to handle Savannah and her jealously, and so his automatic response was planting a quick peck on her cheek, "That's because I don't have to tell you something everyone else already knows, sweetie."

Savannah grinned broadly, and all seemed to be right with the world once again.

At that moment the dining hall began to fill as students swarmed in, each with a fallen face just begging for nourishment. The Hufflepuffs were the first to enter, followed by the Slytherins, then the rest of the Ravenclaws. None of them spoke to her, Silver that is. They mostly kept their distance and if she weren't sitting in between Dominic and Luna, she was sure there would probably be a considerable distance between her and the person beside her based on the way Cho Chang was eyeing Dominic as if he were Silver. For just a second, Cho looked away but it was only to pass on some gossip to another Ravenclaw girl, Hannah Miller. Hannah laughed in a very obvious manner, cupping her face and cursorily glancing at Silver while Cho took a similar stance.

"Do you need something Chang?" Dominic snapped at her surprisingly - because it was very unlikely for him to ever be upset.

She jumped in her seat, startled. "Absolutely nothing, Dominic, but thanks for asking."

Dominic kept his gaze on her when she turned away, and it clearly bothered her because she went on to taking a mouthful of her pie.

"Silver..Silver!" Ginny's elated voice sounded from behind her at the Gryffindor table.

Silver turned to find her face and grinned. Ron and Hermione both smiled at her, happy to see her. But Harry's face sent mixed signals, he was partly upset and partly relieved.

But following one heart warming moment came a cold one when Pansy Parkinson made her way to the Ravenclaw table with her gang of Slytherin girls. Then, they began to clap.

"Well done Silver. Putting the whole school in danger. Bravo, really – extraordinary work." Pansy lead the circus like a proud ringmaster.

Silver rolled her eyes, exhaling loudly. She wasn't in the mood for this – at all.

"Shut up Parkinson." Silver murmured.

"Couldn't hear you there Crouch, care to repeat yourself? Just a bit louder this time?"

"Ms. Parkinson." Professor Flitwick was standing behind them just long enough to hear the threatening lure in her voice, "it's time for lunch, please take your seat."

Pansy looked back, and saw nothing, then bowed her head down towards the floor and finally found him.

"Of course professor, whatever you say." Pansy said a bit spitefully.

Silver snorted, and Dominic bellowed into full on laughter. "That git deserved it."

The eyes of students around Pansy Parkinson followed her to her seat, and it wasn't until then that the bright red color of her cheeks faded a bit. She took a seat between Draco and Millicent.

"Your girlfriend's asking for it, you know." Pansy sneered.

"Jealous Parkinson?" Malfoy smirked as he stared back to find Silver's head amongst the Ravenclaws.

Millicent gasped, "So she is? Crouch isn't your girlfriend, is she?" she said, making a face.

He fidgeted in his seat, he wished it were true. "No she isn't Millicent." Draco smirked, "But if its because your hopping aboard the Pansy express, im flattered." He winked and Millicent swooned.

Pansy just rolled her eyes, she was becoming very aggravated.

"Alright, so tonight we're going to stand watch outside of the room of requirements with Filch. Are we all aware of the plan?" Blaise brought his head in, very keen on secrecy.

Crabbe and Goyle dragged their heads downwards stupidly, while Pansy narrowed her eyes vindictively in agreement. Blake backed away, putting his hand on Draco's shoulder, "What do you say mate?"

Draco was rather excited for the successful capture of whatever it was Potter was putting together, because if he caught him – that meant he would win this time around, for once.

"Wouldn't dare miss it."

Classes were over and done with for the day at last and it was shown by the student's excitement. Hermione had dragged Harry and Ron to the library for some research. Ginny had bumped into Silver and Luna in the corridors, and Blake was already in the common room with the others.

"So, truthfully , I really do believe that I made a good decision." Ginny was nearing the end of her story about Michael Corner, her new boyfriend. "What was I thinking really? He likes Cho, he kissed her! I knew it..i should've stayed in the room to talk to him that night.." she was referring to the last time Dumbledore's army met, according to her, Harry and Cho had stayed behind talking. It wasn't until later that she found out from Hermione that they had actually had a bit of a snog.

"There really wasn't anything you could've done to stop it Ginny." Silver said.

"His mind must be clouded with nargles.." Luna tried to provide some decent advice but failed, miserably.

Ginny stared at her.

"I'm really sorry Gin, but you're happy with Michael aren't you? He's nice, although I haven't talked to him very much." Silver intervened.

"Yes, very much – I am happy. It's just, I don't know, I'll always fancy him a bit. He was my first crush after all."

Silver wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulder while Luna looked off ahead of them.

"You never know what the future can bring." Luna said and then smiled, still maintaining a fixed gaze ahead of her."Well Ginny, I think we should go somewhere. This way, perhaps." Luna pulled Ginny away, quickly disappearing down a flight of stairs.

Silver stood still, puzzled.

"You know, Looney has somewhat of a strange sort of wisdom about her."

When she saw Draco standing a few feet in front of them, she understood why Luna had acted the way she did. She grinned at the sight of him, running towards him and throwing her hands around his waist.

He smiled into her hair. "Must you always be so cheerful?"

Silver held him tighter, "Yes actually, I must."

"Shall we invest some time in the library before dinner? We have quite a bit to do thanks to Snape." Draco said, frowning when Silver pulled away.

"He's an awful person."

"He isn't, he's simply extremely strict, which can be misunderstood at times…"

She raised a brow at him.

"Alright but regardless of our stand on the Snape debate, we have yet to get a start on his homework assignment." Draco said.

"Now _that_, I can agree on." Silver said, walking ahead but felt a slight tug backwards and felt Draco place his hands on hers.

"Is this something you can agree on as well?" Draco smirked his infamous smirk.

She grinned broadly and gave his hand a squeeze. "Somewhat."

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_Thank you for your lovely reviews! And especially to those who answered my question last chapter :)  
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!  
I'm not going to lie, I didn't have much time to write it - thus, that's why it's taken me so long to update :(  
_

_I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to have a preview ready for you guys,  
but please review anyways!  
I will definitely try my hardest to have one though and will inform all my reviewers on its progress. _

_Although, I was a little disappointed with the reviews last chapter, I really was hoping for more!  
But I understand that you guys might be just as busy as I've been lately.  
I just really miss them! lol  
_

_So maybe I can get a little more this time around? :D  
_


	31. RedHanded

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**Red-Handed**

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Draco and Silver hardly got anything done at the library. For one thing, they were trying to be as inconspicuous as possible about the whole thing, Silver was already easily known as the most talked about person in school, and this would just increase the gossiping even more. Yes, because the Malfoys were such a great family to be seen with at times like these.

Every corner, every turn was full of students. There wasn't an empty spot to be found. Until they reached an area by the restricted section, where almost no student was allowed in, and set their books down on a wobbly table. A chunk of wood fell off as soon as Draco set his backpack down. But by this time, it was already a half hour 'til dinner. So really, they didn't have nearly enough time to even begin their essays.

Dinner time came around, and all the students in the library evacuated Into the dining hall – finding any excuse for a break from homework. Silver and Draco walked to their respective tables and joined the rest of their house for dinner. Silver took a seat between Dominic and Blake, and joined in the conversation.

"He's with that Gryffindor girl isn't he though?" Savannah spoke in a very excited tone to Blake.

"Well, whether he is or isn't, clearly it wasn't enough to stop him from snogging Hannah." Blake snorted.

Anthony examined the conversation, "Corner know's what he's doing doesn't he?" he nudged Terry in the ribs.

"What? You don't mean Michael Corner do you?" Silver asked Blake beside her, growing a bit concerned.

"Unless there's another Corner dating a Gryffindor…" Terry teased.

"Oh no! Does she know?" Silver threw down the slice of meatloaf she had just finished cutting.

Luna shook her head, "No, not yet at least."

"But it'll be soon enough when she finds out." Blake drew her head in closer to the table, "Hannah's going to tell Michael to choose, and he's obviously smitten with Hannah. I mean you'd have to be blind not to notice."

"Hannah's got a nice pair of er..legs on her doesn't she?" Anthony joked with Dominic, but after a look from Silver – Dominic coughed and straightened his shoulders.

"It's awful, what a foul, foul thing he's done." Dominic said, but something in his voice made Silver think he didn't quite believe his own words.

"Poor Ginny." Silver was torn whether she should tell her what she'd just found out, or just wait for the events to take their course.

Luna looked as somber about this as she did.

"I just feel like he's not as sweet as he used to be you know?" Ginny spoke quietly into her plate.

Hermione put an arm around her shoulder. "Do you think he might just be going through something he hasn't told you about?"

Ginny shrugged. "If that's the case, he should tell me. I mean who else would he tell? I am his _girlfriend._"

Harry's ears picked up the last part of Ginny's sentence and he instantaneously focused on her and Hermione's quiet conversation.

"Honestly, boys can be so ridiculous." Hermione rolled her eyes, still comforting her friend.

Ginny whimpered, nodding her head and then stole a glance over at Harry. Their eyes met for only a minute before she looked down and blushed. She inhaled deeply, and she couldn't help but think how things would've been if Harry and her were together. She exhaled loudly – it probably wouldn't be any different.

Hermione glanced over at Ron Weasley, he was eating, as usual. Not even noticing how she let her hair down today, just for him to see. How could he be so thick? It seemed like he never notice anything. All he was ever concerned about was food and Harry. It was like Hermione only came into his perfectly balanced world when he needed schoolwork or backup for Harry – and she wanted to mean so much more than that to him.

The sounds of clashing silverware began to lessen as more students finished their dinner and exited the great hall with their houses. A few Ravenclaws remained while just Harry, Hermione and Ron remained at the Gryffindor table.

"C'mon." Blake nudged Silver in the arm as she rose from her seat, throwing her leg over the bench and onto the empty space separating them from the Slytherins.

"Go ahead." Silver told her as she eyed Harry, "I'll catch up in a bit. Go on." She didn't waste any time and hurried off to join them. Hermione bursted with enthusiasm but stopped when she noticed Ron did too. He never got that excited when _she _was around.

Silver smiled, "How are you all doing?"

"We're okay, but how are you? Has anyone been saying anything rash?" Hermione said, worried.

Silver shrugged, "Not loud enough for me to hear."

"Believe me, if I hear someone say anything…" Harry trailed off.

Silver looked at him morosely, wondering if he was mad at her for not telling him about her trip to Azkaban before she'd gone through with it. He seemed to be thinking something of the same nature because he, too, looked up at her.

"You should've told us you know." Harry began, averting his gaze to look around him, and then back at her, "Remus was worried sick. He almost went after you himself once he found out."

Silver wanted to ask how he had found out but he beat her to it.

"Mr. Weasley told him…the ministry knows everything."

Ron laughed dryly at this, but then Harry continued.

"He wants to hear from you, as soon as you can, he's quite concerned."

Now only them four remained in the Great Hall, even the Professors had already retired to their rooms. The house elves were scampering about, cleaning after the messes the students left behind.

"You know, I wanted to tell you Harry, but I couldn't possibly. It would've been too dangerous to have you somewhere like that and I know you would've want to come."

"Well what you don't seem to realize is how dangerous it is for you as well Silver. Everyone'll have to know you're my sister someday, and when they do, Voldermort will be after you just the same."

Hermione gasped, "Harry.."

"No, Hermione, she's got to know. Sirius and Remus have already discussed this with me. The time will come and it's better you know in advance than at the moment."

This wasn't good. Silver nerves felt taut, and she somewhat felt like this was another one of her nightmares. "Harry, they confused me for you. The dementors confused _me_ for _you!_" she said a little too loudly.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked curiously, wanting to get her feet wet in a good mystery.

"I was attacked by dementors earlier this year, and then I heard –"

"You were attacked by a dementor?" Ron shrieked, not at all comfortable with the situation.

Silver ignored him and went on, "and Professor McGonagall was outside, talking to Dumbledore and Snape and she mentioned something about the dementors being confused. Harry they thought I was you?" Silver started very decidedly, but then realized how irrational it all sounded.

Harry eyes widened under his round thick glasses, "You're right! We already know the dementors are being controlled by something other than the ministry. Although they would never dare admit it. and if they've already made it clear they're after me, I don't know…I mean I suppose the blood? The similarity? Really have no idea how dementors recognize people. Hermione?"

Hermione stiffened in her seat, crossing her arms in front of her, "I'll do some research."

Ron smirked. "The day Hermione doesn't know something! This is going down in history!"

Hermione scoffed, looking rather annoyed at him. "It wont happen again Ron, I assure you."

"Right, well as soon as we find out Hermione, then we'll have to see what they want from us."

Ron snorted, "More research huh Hermione?"

"Shutup Ron."

Silver smiled, they looked so cute. "Look at you two bickering like a married couple."

Ron's red cheeks amplified to a very bright shade of scarlet, which he tried to hide by bringing his hands up to his face. Hermione tried to seem serious, but a small smile sprawled across her lips.

"Ha. Like that'll ever happen." Ron said.

Harry passed a hand thru his messy hair, "Never." he said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Well, c'mon now – I reckon I have a class to teach." And with that, they hurried off to the room of requirements.

Filch had taken his usual seat in front of the entrance, the darkness of the room swallowing him – definitely no match for his lit candlestick. But he didn't seem to mind, he sat seeming exceptionally at ease with his brownnosing cat, . Fred and George were already there, watching him from behind a marble column. They snickered amongst themselves, shushing the other when one got too loud.

"What are you two going on about?' Ron asked his brothers.

Fred grinned, George answered, "Well Ronnie, you see, we might've.."

"Just left a present for Filch, you see." Fred continued.

"Box of chocolates if you will." George said with a sneaky undertone to his voice and right at that moment, Filch keeled over and fell to the ground with a thud.

Hermione jumped, "You didn't kill him did you?"

Ron and Harry's eyes shone a bit brighter for a second.

"Course not, we're not stupid either. He's just sleeping is all." Fred brushed them off and then looked past Hermione's unruly head of hair towards Silver.

"Well hello there, beautiful." Fred winked.

"Let us escort the lady inside shall we Fred?"

"Oh, we shall George."

Silver laughed, and they both took a hold of an arm and lead her forward.

Hermione huffed. This wasn't helping her situation at all. Apparently she wasn't even considered a girl anymore.

Harry noticed her disappointment. "You want me to escort you in Hermione?"

Her face turned ten different shades of red, "Quiet Harry. Let's go before filch wakes up."

The lesson went by productively as it usually did. Nearly everyone in the class was already able to call upon their patronus charm. Silver was among one of the first, but not before Hermione did of course. It seemed to take Ron quite some time, but he finally came around to it. Neville was the only one still struggling with it but much to his astonishment; he'd mastered it in tonight's lesson.

"Expecto Patromun!" Silver chanted, whilst a small spark of light flickered from the very tip of her long wooden wand, taking the shape of a white, pearly fox. It ran around Luna and then circled Ginny twice, until it returned to it's master.

"Brilliant Silver, it's gotten much stronger. Well done." Harry stood behind her enthusiastically.

Dean Thomas, a tall Gryffindor, maintained his distance from Silver, along with the rest of the students. Apparently they still believed she was genius enough to cause a breakout in Azkaban.

"Yes, Brilliant job Crouch. Maybe you can use that, along with everything else you've learned and use it against us later." Dean Thomas said from across the room.

Seamus Finnigan, another Gryffindor, joined in. "This isn't right Harry, she doesn't belong here."

There was a wave of nods and grunt in agreement to his statement.

"She shouldn't even be allowed back here. They _should've _just locked you up next to your father." Michael Corner spat causing the fervent crowd behind him to agree more.

"Maybe you shouldn't be allowed here anymore Corner!" Ginny spoke forcefully, surprising Fred and George whom were both beside her, "If anyone's going to get kicked out it should be you."

Michael's eyes narrowed, "Don't even get me started Weasley – "

Harry stood in front of Ginny before he had a chance to finish his sentence. "This is my lesson. And in _my _ lesson there wont be any disrespect. You can't talk to Ginny that way, she's got more talent in one finger than you've got in your entire body. And as for my sister, I'll let you believe as you will, but one more thing out of you and you're out. D'you understand Michael?"

Harry hadn't realized the look of plain shock on his face, because he hadn't noticed the fact that he just referred to Silver as his _sister._

"Harry.." Silver began, "Do you realize what you've just said?"

Harry seemed to be coming to terms with this now, for his face seemed to have fallen into panic.

"Did you just call that traitor your sister?" Seamus Finnigan pointed out.

The room fell quiet, neither Silver nor Harry knew how to answer to this. And then, all of a sudden, there was a loud knocking on the wall of the room which would be the entrance from the outside. No one moved. And again, but this time it was more than a knock, it was if there were something very heavy stricking the door. Someone trying to get in.

Everyone looked at each other panicked.

"Hide everyone!" Hermione shouted, and everyone did as they were told. Ginny and her brothers all hid behind a curtain, while Hermione found a spot under a chair with Luna.

Harry and Silver were about to move, but then a small hole pierced into the room, and there they were, both eye to eye with Filch.

"Stay where you are Potter! Haha!" it looked like feeding time at the zoo.

A crowd of students were huddled behind him, those who were now known as the Inquistorial squad. Filch banged on the wall, and more pieces crumbled to the ground, causing the opening to grow large enough for him to fit through.

Everyone stayed hidden where they were, but Hermione was very tempted to come out and take responsibility for her actions.

One by one, each member of the squad, which was mostly composed of Slytherins, entered through the large gap in the wall. And when they were all finished, came Cho, Draco pointing his wand towards her back to keep her moving forward.

Silver noticed Cho, anger coursing through her body. How could she do this to them? She looked over at Harry and saw the hurt etched into his features. She was about to walk over to him, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Can't you walk a bit faster Chang? I'm aging back here."

She jerked her head back to Cho, a little too quickly because she felt a muscle in her neck go taut, and at that moment looked into the face of Draco Malfoy.

The room was still quiet, except for the wheezing intake of breath of Filch, and the sound of Draco's wand slipping out of his fingers and falling on the ground. Her green eyes widened so large, they almost fell off their sockets.

"No.." They both murmured at the same time.

Filch didn't seem to pay any notice to the exchange and simply barked out some order. Without haste, Crabbe had his large hand wrapped tightly around Silver's upper arm, surely cutting her circulation, and Goyle had Harry in a headlock.

"C'mon you two felons, its off to Dumbledore with the both of you." Filch said through gritted teeth.

Goyle walked up ahead with Harry, while Crabbe seemed to be taking his time with Silver, obviously enjoying her pain.

He laughed under his breath. "Brute am i? I'll show you what a brute I can be." His hand squeezed her arm even tighter than before, but this time he had managed to get a hold of her other arm too.

Silver made a small sort of sound, but Crabbe shushed her.

"Get off of her Crabbe. Filch is calling you." Draco's voice sounded from ahead of her, but she wasn't quite sure if she was relieved to hear it.

Crabbe groaned, waiting until Draco had a hold of her before he walked off. When Draco was sure Crabbe was far enough, he let go of her. She didn't say anything, simply kept walking as she rubbed her arms which were now feeling a bit weaker, thanks to Crabbe.

Hermione emerged from under the chair, the first who dared to get up after they had left with Silver and Harry. She ran over to where Ginny and her brothers were, signaling them it was safe to come out. Ron stumbled out of the chair, almost falling on Hermione but she held her hands out to steady him. He pursed his lips and mumbled a quick sorry before Ginny pushed him out of her direct attention.

"You don't think they'll get expelled do you?" Ginny said softly, yet anxiously.

Hermione's lips thinned into a straight line, but then a look of determination overwhelmed her face. "No, Dumbledore wouldn't allow that witch to do that. I know he wouldn't."

"Hermione, Umbridge is practically managing the school, Dumbledore doesn't mean anything anymore." Ron frowned.

She looked at him sternly, he was right. But something inside of her didn't want to believe it. "C'mon Ron, lets go." That seemed to be enough to get Ron to look at the brighter side of things, and he courageously followed suit.

Harry and Silver followed Filch and the inquisitorial squad down the dark empty corridors, with nothing else but silence as their company. Not even did Draco and Silver speak a word to each other, and both were too upset with the other to dare try. It wasn't until they started nearing Dumbledore's office, perched high on the seventh floor of the castle, that Draco hesitantly took a hold of her arm to make it look like he had taken over Crabbe's job. She looked down at it, feeling as if she were on the verge of tears – Draco Malfoy, the boy she would do anything for, was the one turning her in to the Headmaster for expulsion, or worse, any tortured punishment Umbridge would render.

The gargoyle statues guarding the entrance to the headmaster's residence opened before they were close enough to open it themselves, and out came Professor McGonagall in her night robes. Her eyes opened, and she reached into her pocket to get her glasses. Once she had them on, she then seemed to finally take in the scene before her.

"What is the meaning of this Filch? Why are there so many students out of their dormitories?" she said strictly, her stern glare falling over Filch.

"You see professor, we've found these two," he said, pointing at Silver and Harry on cue, "in the room of requirements past curfew. We're sure they're up to something."

"And we're nearly certain there's more of them gathering as well, we just couldn't reach them in time." Pansy barked.

"That is a very serious accusation ." her eyes followed along the Slytherins and then fell on Draco and Silver. "Come inside please."

Dumbledore didn't seem to be expecting visitors, he looked as if he were ready for bed.

"Professor Dumbledore, Filch here has –" McGonagall began, but was rudely interrupted by Filch.

"They've got a group together and they're doing stuff in the room of requirements way past curfew Headmaster, sir. I've caught them you see. They couldn't get past me or Mrs. Norris here."

Blaise Zabini rolled his eyes, clearly not happy with the lack of credit he was receiving. Just then, small footsteps were heard walking up the staircase and stop suddenly behind them. "Ah, thank you for letting me know Crabbe, fifty points to Slytherin. Well done."

Silver glared at her, her shoulders stiffening when she walked closer to them. Professor Umbridge was also dressed in her nightgown with a robe over, except her was entirely pink down to the slippers.

"We shall alert the ministry immediately." She clapped her hands together and looked back at a very unhappy Dumbledore.

"So tell me what you were doing, hm? What were you two felons up to?"

At this time Harry had been set loose and was standing next to silver and Draco, who hadn't released his hold on her.

"Don't answer Harry, there's no need too. You are to answer only to me and I am asserting that right at this very moment Professor Umbridge. If you don't mind, I would like to speak to my students alone."

Umbridge stood dumbly for a bit, she was quite put off by this, but with simply no excuse on why she should stay, she huffed and walked away. Most of the inquisitorial squad followed along with her. Draco seemed to be debating what to do, when at last he let Silver go and followed Blaise.

"Professor..we aren't doing anything wrong." Harry immediately began trying to explain himself, but Dumbledore waved him off.

"No need to explain Harry, I already know what you were doing just as well as Umbridge knows what you were doing. A student seemed to had cracked under the pressure of her interrogation and told her what was happening."

Silver and Harry stood quiet.

"The ministry should be here at any moment now, and well, I just hope the two of you will look after each other."

"Of course Professor, but why?" Harry prompted.

Dumbledore only smiled, the twinkle in his eye once again shining. "And continue working with Severus will you?"

Just then the fireplace of Dumbledore's office emitted a strong green light and out came two men.

"Ah, good Kingsley, we have a bit of a problem on our hands." Professor Umbridge emerged from the shadows and began to speak.

She told them about how she had gotten Cho to reveal the truth about what the students were gathering to do, telling them how they referred to themselves as Dumbledore's army.

"I'm sure Dumbledore's behind this, it's got his name on it for Merlin's sake." She continued to drawl on.

"it wasn't him at all, I'm the one that started this. Dumbledore has nothing to do with this." Harry nearly yelled from how livid he was after hearing about what Cho had done.

Dumbledore took a step forward, "Now Harry, no need to lie, it isn't right. We are all aware that I am indeed the founder of this 'army'. After all, it is called Dumbledore's army, not Potter's army."

Harry looked outraged, "But professor.."

Dumbledore silenced him with a look and he then went on to address the man known as Kingsley. "It's all a misunderstanding."

Kingsley nod his head, then lowered his head in thought. "Well then Albus, I'm afraid we have no other choice but to take you with us."

Harry's eyes shot open while Silver pulled on his sweater. Dumbledore took a few steps back towards his desk. "I'm afraid I can't do that for you Kingsley. I much do prefer to stay where I am."

Kingsley and the others that had come with him began to close in on him, "Let's do this peacefully."

Dumbledore smirked, "I truly am sorry gentleman, but I especially do not intend on doing this peacefully." And with that Dumbledore clapped his hands above his head, a puff of smoke overcoming the room, to find him no longer there when the office had cleared.

Umbridge ran up to where he had stood seconds ago, "Can't you_ do_ something? He's gone! He is now considered a _wanted _man!"

Kingsley smiled, laughing shortly, "That he may be Dolores, but you've got to admit, Dumbledores got style."

She huffed, Silver was sure that if it were possible, smoke would be hurling out of her ears and fire coming out of her mouth. But then again, if she'd found the right spell, it might very well be possible.

Professor McGonagall stood alone in the back, at first she seemed worried as to where he had gone, but later composed herself to direct the school in his absence. "Right, now that that's settled, I'd like all of you to report back to your dormitories please."

They did as they were told, one by one each student exited his office. Pansy and Blaise were very upset with the results of this meeting, they were desperately hoping this would be the end of Harry Potter. And seeing as they've made new enemies, Harry and Silver took refuge each in the other, until they had to part ways to find their respective towers.

Silver continued her way up to Ravenclaw tower alone, on the way she did hear the paintings cower before her presence, but she didn't bother to care anymore. Her head was filled with thoughts on Draco, and what he could've possibly been thinking to join that horrid inquisitorial squad.

Secretly she hoped he'd followed her , so that they would clear this up and go back to normal. But she knew he wouldn't, his pride was much too engorged to do something like that. So in order to get rid of that unpleasant tug at the pit of her stomach, she turned around, changing her course entirely to run down to the dungeons. She ran as fast as her feet could take her, not only was she already headed to her least favorite part of the castle, but the school in itself was scary enough at night.

When she arrived, she found him drowning himself in thought because he sat on the floor right by the door of his common room, his head against his knees. He heard the sound of footsteps and looked up, a swell of relief washing over his cold features. It seemed he had been trying to decide the same thing.

Neither spoke, and seeing as she was nearly positive he wouldn't make the first move she demanded an answer. "Why?"

He stared at her. "Why?"

"Yes, why? Why would you join that mad woman's weird little club?"

"Weird little club? She's trying to get this school back to running top notch. Something Dumbledore hasn't been able to do in years."

"Yes he has Draco, you know he has."

"It's a good thing they caught Potter, he's always sneaking around thinking he can do whatever he feels like he's in the mood for. It's a shame he didn't get blamed for it in the end." He said, an icy bitterness singeing his words.

"I knew it. You just joined that ridiculous thing to get back at him, to finally beat him at this irritating little game you two have been playing since you've met each other."

Draco didn't like hearing his deepest secrets being exposed in the school corridors. He stood up, his figure easily towering over hers. "And your no better Crouch. What do you think you're doing partnering up with Potter now? Think he's going to get you popular here? Well, I'm sorry I couldn't do that for you."

Silver stepped closer to him. "You really think I care about my reputation right now?" she exhaled heavily. " I'm the most hated person in Hogwart's and you really think I'm just trying to boost up my likability by hanging out with him?"

"Of course. You chose him, I knew you'd eventually cower away and let me down, just like everyone else does." He said spitefully.

She began to panic. "No! No! I'm not, I'm not trying to get away from you. Why would you even think such a thing?" She said frantically as she tried to reach for his hand but he jerked it away.

"Don't touch me."

"Draco, please. That isn't the reason at all..this isn't even about us! How has this conversation about Dumbledore and Umbridge become about _us?_"

She didn't know what else to say, she felt out of breath, out of strength, she just wanted to cry. "Draco…." She choked, '…he's – he's my br-brother." she said breathlessly and ran away, never bothering to turn around and look back at him.

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**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! Amazing, as usual.  
I hope the chapter doesn't disappoint.  
**

**Secrets have now been revealed! What's going to happen next? Will Draco and Silver ever make up?  
Just trying to built up some suspense for the next chapter, is it working? **

**Previews for all who review :)  
**

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	32. Just Breathe

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**Just Breathe**

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"Draco…." She choked, '…he's – he's my br-brother." she said breathlessly and ran away.

Draco stared at Silver's back, running, never looking back to say this was all a joke. It was just a terrible, not the least bit humorous sad excuse of a joke. But the fact that she never did turn around told him it was very much the truth.

_That's impossible,_ he thought to himself, _I've known her for years and she's never known who her parents were._ He stood in the solitary corridor, not really waiting for anything. He just knew he needed some time to take this in. Silver, the girl he was extremely infuriated with, yet undeniably interested in, was the sister of the boy he loathed most.

It couldn't be true, it just couldn't. Because if it were true ( in a hypothetical situation), that would mean, according to his nature, he should never have any sort of interaction with her for as long as he lived. And at this point, he wasn't so sure he would be able to do that. He was in too deep, he fancied her and that was something he could no longer deny himself of. He'd been struggling with the notion for the past month, and there was no way around it – he liked her and as more than a mere friend.

There was a strange weight on his chest, he rarely felt this way. Actually, he'd never felt this way – except for the time he had found out Silver had been hospitalized not too long ago. That's when he truly realized his feelings, because it was on that fateful day that he, if given the choice, would've more than willingly traded places with her – so he would be the one lying, bruised and scratched, on a hospital bed.

Silver didn't even bother to change into her nightgown, she simply ran up the stairs to the girl's dormitories and flung onto her bed, wrapping her blankets tight around her body. She hated all this fighting, all the bickering – especially when it was with Draco, which it so often was. Was it wrong to tell him about Harry, so suddenly and out of nowhere? Probably so, but it was too late to take it back now. What had been done was done, and now he knew and it would probably be the source of a lot more quarrels in the future.

"Silver?"

She heard a small muffled voice from the bed on her right, Blakes auburn hair was spread across her pillow, wild and untamed, her sleepy eyes struggling to stay open. "What are you still doing up?"

Silver pushed the blue comforter off her face to look at her. "Sorry, couldn't sleep." She lied.

Blake made a small noise and propped her body up with her elbows. "Neither could I, what's wrong?"

"You serious Blake? You were fast asleep just a second ago." Silver said.

"You blind? Of course I wasn't, I was wide awake." Blake yawned.

Silver sat up as well, mimicking Blake's pose, staring into the wall in front of her. There was the faint sound of a toilet flushing downstairs, or maybe from one of the boys rooms.

"I know it has something to do with that Malfoy git." Blake plainly stated, "and I know this isn't the first fight you two have gotten into, and I know that for some strange, unworldly reason, he treats you decently."

Silver's green eyes opened wide at how straightforward Blake had just spoken.

"It isn't all that much of a secret you know, nearly the entire house knows – we're all just too scared to spread it any further because we know what Malfoys capable of." She said seriously, but a bit guilty as well.

"How out of the loop have I been really? I don't know about anything anymore."

Blake laughed shortly, "You aren't out of it, it's just, everyone else is too nosy to stick to their own business."

That didn't seem to cheer her up, so Blake stood up and walked over to her bed, sitting beside her and pulling her into a hug. "I hate him, really I do, and I've told you plenty of times before. Which unfortunately, might be why you haven't spoken about him to me anymore – and I'm really sorry about that, I am."

"Blake it isn't your fault, at all. I've just had so much on my mind, I can't even seem to get things out into a sentence anymore."

Blake nodded in understanding. "You know that whatever happens, I'll help you in whatever way I can. But if he does something wrong, please don't hesitate in telling me so – It would be more than a pleasure to avenge you."

Silver laughed along with her, feeling a little better than she did before.

-

Fortunately Potions was already done for the week. But Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't any better. Silver sat next to Luna, beginning their assignment straight away – copying five pages directly from the book. Umbridge sat at the front of the classroom, keeping a watchful eye on the students before her – occasionally glancing own to have a sip of tea. Ron and Harry weren't very interested in their assignment, seeing as they were making weird snorting sounds from their desk behind Silver. Hermione sat with another Gryffindor girl, Padma Patil. And Blake sat with Dominic towards the front of the class.

When the torture of class was finally over, students practically jumped from their seats and ran towards the exit, never wasting a moment of their long awaited freedom. Silver had just walked out the door with Blake when she felt Luna tug at her robes.

"Is it true?" she asked, looking mildly interested in both their conversation and in a light fixture up ahead.

"Is what true Luna?" Silver looked back to see what she was staring at.

Luna's eyes darted over to Blake, "Fine, I'll leave – all you had to do was ask Lovegood." Blake crossed her arms in front of her, clearly aware she wasn't wanted.

Now Luna seemed prepared to delight her with the news, "That you and Harry are siblings?"

Silver's stomach twisted, "How did you find out? You can't tell anyone!"

Luna stared at her, "Dean Thomas told Cho, and then Cho told Michael, and then Michael told me."

How had Dean Thomas found out? But then she thought back to last night and what Harry had told Dean when they were in the room of requirements.

Up ahead, Silver noticed Draco, Pansy, and Blaise walking down the corridors. Blaise pushed a first year Hufflepuff aside, nearly sending him straight into a wall, while Pansy sneered at the first year's unfortunate friend. Draco on the other hand, stood in between them, simply looking interested in the path ahead of him – until he noticed Silver looking. She quickly turned her head to face Luna once again, and although they hated each other at the moment, she couldn't help feel her face go hot.

Luna of course hadn't noticed, it wasn't a surprise though, she rarely noticed anything. Just like she didn't notice when Cho's friend, Hannah, took a pair of sneakers Luna had left behind in the common room and hid it behind some drapery by the window.

"Was it?" Silver heard Ginny's small voice as she went up to Luna, and then saw her eyes go wide when she noticed Silver.

"Was it…good? Your class, I mean." Ginny looked down embarrassed.

"It was fine, although my hand does ache a bit – I think I might need to ice it perhaps? I'm not sure." Luna smiled dreamily.

Silver smirked, "I'm sure that's not the answer you were so desperately waiting to hear." She looked at Ginny, who didn't quite know what to say. "It's true Gin, but you can't say anything."

Ginny beamed. "No! That's brilliant! I wont tell a soul, I already told Dean to stop spreading it around, he's already told Michael. Of course, I've already given him quite a speech about how he can't speak a word about it. He's a loathsome git he is, don't even know what I fancied about him in the beginning."

Silver laughed, "Don't fuss, I'll see if I can pull some strings now with that dear brother of mine."

"Haven't seen you with Malfoy in a while." Anthony Goldstein's voice interrupted her thoughts as she lounged in the common room with a few fellow Ravenclaws.

Silver shook her head away from the burning cinders on the fireplace, "Hm?" She opened her eyes in realization that someone was addressing her directly, "Oh um yeah, no I haven't talked to him much lately."

Anthony smirked crookedly over at Terry and then looked back at her. "D'you finally realize he's a git?" Terry Boot prompted.

She stayed silent, awkwardly avoiding answering his question since the rest of her friends were intently watching their interaction, mostly silent. Savannah glared at him sternly, putting a steady hand over his, gently squeezing it. She mouthed something to him, a _shut up Terry_, so only he would hear.

Dominic had just come from pouring himself some water when he plopped down between Anthony and Silver, laying a protective arm around her shoulders. "How about we talk about your private life Anthony? C'mon now, don't be shy, when was your last snog huh?"

Silver let out a small laugh, Anthony grunted. "Don't be so dense Dates." he said angrily before he stood up and went up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

"He deserved it." Blake pat Dominic on the arm. "Too bad he's still drooling over you."

"Even after I told him off that night at the party?" Silver wondered.

Blake nodded, "Even after that, seems like he likes them feisty."

The next day went by rather dully, as far as Silver was concerned that is, she wasn't too coherent as her classes went by. She could barely sleep, her night was full of unsettling dreams – or rather, nightmares. She dreamt of Draco and her fighting, but worse. He told her he never wanted to speak with her again, that he should've never trusted her with anything and she was a complete waste of his time. Then she heard a shrill scream and the sound of Bellatrix Lestrange laughing, all the while Draco stood aside in a corner, watching whatever was happening in front of him. And for some frightening reason she believed that whatever was occurring had something to do with her.

"Open your books to page 305, and don't make me repeat it again ." Professor Binns hallowed figure floated by her, he rarely grew upset with a student, but it seemed like Silver must've been drifting off longer than she had thought.

Silver did as she was told, flipping the pages of her used textbook to page 305. Dominic looked at her, worried and took the liberty of finding the page for her. At the pace she was going, it would've taken her three days to get there.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"You seem put off lately." Dominic said.

The right side of her lip twisted into a smirk. "How nice of you to notice."

"Care to talk about it?"

"We're in class Dom, it's hardly the time to have a discussion about this."

She was right.

"Right. Ok tonight, after dinner?"

Silver nodded, and went back to her text. Before she knew it Professor Binns had dismissed the class and she was finally free for the day. It was Friday, the most anticipated day of the week, and although she had piles of homework to be done – she decided today she would take a break from it all and just – relax.

She walked with Dominic and Blake down the halls, dismissing any one crossing her way, except for one persistent figure whom seemed to be standing in her way.

"Harry." Silver smiled at the sight of him; Ron and Hermione flanking closely behind of course.

"I've been looking for you all week you know that." Harry grinned, Ron and Hermione waved at her.

She waved back. "That's right, I haven't seen you since Potions on Monday." They were no longer gathering for Dumbledore's army, due to the inconvenience laid on their path thanks to Cho Chung.

"Well, I'm here now." She continued, sort of grateful she was once again talking to him. She'd gotten used to being around him, seeing him as her brother.

"Well, I need to go up to the library to start working on Snape's essay." Hermione announced without being asked.

"Hermione, that paper isn't due for another two weeks. Do you really have to study _all_ the time?" Ron moaned the way he usually did whenever she brought up school work.

"Yes Ron, I do. Becauase the O.W.L.s are sooner than we think they are and if we don't prepare now.."

Ron cut her off. "I'll go to the library with you, as long as you stop talking about school."

She smiled triumphantly.

"Study group for Potions? Brilliant, sign me up." Dominic said, fully aware of Hermione's intelligence level and all the help he could receive from her.

The three of them turned and walked off in the opposite direction, up a set of staircases and then disappearing from sight. Ron seemed a little upset of the extra guest to their usual party of two, but was very good at hiding it.

Harry and Silver walked down the corridors ,talking about anything that came to mind, but never failing to notice the stares being thrown in their direction.

"Looks like word's traveling huh?" Silver said.

Harry nodded, "No big deal. Once you're constantly talked about, it doesn't really faze you anymore."

A group of Slytherins then rounded the corner, staring Harry down as they walked by him – Pansy and Blaise at the lead. It looked like they had just been dismissed from class because all the fifth years were together, she'd never seen so many in one place – except for when they were at the Great Hall for meals. It was almost intimidating. She could feel her stomach tightened, she knew what was coming next. And for the second time that week, Draco Malfoy's cold stare pierced through her very soul - but she didn't look away. Even if it was a glare, she still reveled in the eye contact. It reassured her almost that he didn't hate her completely. Because if he did, he wouldn't even want to look at her for a second, at least that's how it worked in her mind.

Harry noticed the icy exchange. Draco noticed who was beside her and he became even more aggravated. When the moment was over, Harry looked over at Silver and noticed the grief painted into her green eyes.

"It's not my fault, why doesn't he see I can't help it?" Silver said softly, looking down. "I can't choose whom I'm conceived by.."

Harry opened his eyes in shock. "You told him?" he said, a bit panicky.

"I didn't want to lie to him," she said apologetically, "I'd already done it once and I was scared he would no longer trust me if he found it I had lied to him again."

"He hasn't killed me yet. That's good."

"You can take him."

"You think so?" Harry looked over his skinny body.

"Probably not." She laughed.

He smiled back at her and shrugged. "Good, I'm glad you're smiling from what Luna's told me, you've been a mad mess."

"What's this? Are you trying to act brother-like and look after me now?"

"Seeing as I'm the man of the house. Yes." He pretended to brush off imaginary dust from his robes.

Which brought her to thinking about Remus. "How is he? Remus I mean?"

"He's alright. He asks about you in all his letters. Says he hasn't written to you much so there aren't any chances of someone getting suspicious. But I think its too late for that, don't you?" Harry scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I think so."

There was a group of girls huddling up ahead of them, gossiping about something. Their robes were all rimmed in a dark red color, indicating they were Gryffindors. Then silver recognized the bright red hair that could only belong to a Weasley. Ginny was towards the back of the group, showing preference to simply speaking to one of her friends and not joining in on the larger conversation.

Harry looked at her with a sort of sadness, and then some interest.

"If you can make something happen now, I don't understand why you're taking longer than should."

Harry snapped his head up. "What do you mean?"

Silver sighed and continued. "She likes you, and you like her. Ask her out."

He finally broke away from staring in her direction, "It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is _that_ simple. She's right there in front of you." Her thoughts drifted off to Draco. "It's not like she hates you and can't stand the sight of you."

"Malfoy can't stand the sight of anyone Silver, you should know that by now." Harry tried not to sound angry, but in truth he very much was.

"But I was on the other hand..the handful he _could_ stand." She said softly, more to herself than to Harry who was now looking at her like she'd just gone off her rocker. "And I ruined it and I'm not going to let that happen to you." She said with a fierce determination in her voice. Harry jumped back a little.

"What are you waiting for Harry? Go ask Ginny." She said as more of an order than a suggestion.

"Ask Ginny what exactly?" Harry said, backing away.

"Anything! Just go talk to her." She gave him a quick push and sent him off to her. She watched Ginny, the surprise on her face when her friend nudged her in the arm and whispered something into her ear, and then the way she lit up when Harry went up to her.

She missed that. She missed the excitement that traveled through her veins at the sight of Draco, the way her body would tense up when he touched her, how happy and carefree she had felt during the Christmas holidays with him.

She decided to go back up to the common room and wait until dinner was served. Hopefully Dominic was there so they could start this confessional earlier, she needed to unload and vent to him about how she felt. She looked at Harry and Ginny again before leaving, she was smiling and although all she could see was the back of Harry's head, she was sure he was smiling as well.

She rounded on her heel and walked towards the staircase to begin her journey up to her floor. Some students were leaning against the railings of the landings, but she didn't recognize any of them. They were all Slytherins, and probably the same group that had just passed by earlier. She quickened her pace up the steps, grabbing on to the railing to make sure she wouldn't trip and make a fool of herself. She looked down at the steps, another precaution she took so she couldn't fall over, but heard the voice around her perfectly. She recognized Crabbe and Goyle's deep, stupid voices. Hopefully they wouldn't notice her.

"Crouch!" One of them grunted.

"You mean Potter don't you?" The other barked.

She didn't look up to acknowledge them, instead she kept her gaze fixated on the ground and hastened. She was so desperately trying to avoid them that she unknowingly smashed into someone, hard. She nearly toppled over, but a pair of strong arms kept her in place, causing her to land on his chest. His breath caught, and his shoulders stiffened. Almost instantly she could recognize whom she had landed on, and in all honestly she preferred for the world to swallow her whole instead of having to face him.

But she knew she had to and so she did, her predictions proving to be true. Draco Malfoy stood in front of her, still holding her arms. Crabbe and Goyle laughed like hyenas from wherever they were standing, along with a more girlish snigger that most likely belonged to Pansy Parkinson. Silver's face flushed.

"You're in my way." She managed to say as she quickly jerked her arms away from him. She felt humiliated and this was the last group of people she would want to be surrounded by at a time like this. "Move." She added.

Draco was about to move aside when Blaise Zabini planted himself beside him, brushing his shoulder. "I don't think I want to, I'm rather fond of this spot."

Silver narrowed her eyes. "Get out of my way Zabini."

"I believe, Potter, you're in _my_ way." He sneered.

Realizing there really was no other way to get this oaf to move, she walked ahead and squeezed herself in between the two of them. Draco shifted his body to lean against the railing, but Blaise only moved closer to her. "Where are you going in such a hurry huh?"

He was too big for her to move, so now she was in a rather uncomfortable position with Zabini only inches away from her. "You're being ridiculous Zabini, let me through." She tried again, but to no avail.

"Ridiculous am i?" he was about to move closer when Silver reached inside of her robes and pulled out her wand and laid it on his jaw.

"Déjà vu huh?" Silver smirked, and slipped through the empty space that had now formed due to Zabini's cowardly actions. He rose up a step and moved aside. Once she had gone through, she quickly put her wand away again, hoping no professor was around to witness what she had just done.

"She's got some nerve that girl." Blaise strode back to where he had been standing before, more directly in the middle of the group.

Draco directed his gaze from following her up the stairs back down to Blaise, and then to the floor. What could he possibly do? She lied to him, more than once and he couldn't just forget that. But he felt terribly useless just standing there as a witness while he watched her be bullied around by his friends. He wanted to stop Blaise and put him in his place, but he couldn't possibly do that, not after what she had done to him.

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**A/N: We're reaching the 100 mark with reviews and I'm really excited! :)  
Well here's Draco's reaction to Silver and Harry, he might be a little upset i think.  
But don't worry he'll come around....soon enough.**

**Thank you all for favoriting my story or putting it on alert, and especially for your reviews.  
They're awesome.  
No previews for the next chapter, but I will try to update faster!  
I'm just so loaded with homework and work that I barely even have time to finish a chapter :\  
But I really don't want to leave you guys waiting for so long for my next update because I know if i were in your position, I probably wouldn't be too happy about that. lol**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
Please Review!! :)**


	33. Study groups

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**Study groups**

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It was as if the beginning of the school year had been put on repeat, Silver and Draco didn't speak for at least a month. And they didn't even have Potions to interact in because of the fact that they no longer actually worked together on potions. They were forced to copy text straight out of their books.

Hermione, Blake, Ginny, Silver, and Luna all decided to meet at the library whenever they had any free time, under Hermione's instructions of course. But in truth, they were all somewhat concerned with the new twist on the O.W.L's this year, the test usually had just a small writing portion – but this year, this test was all based on information straight from the textbook, therefore all of it was written.

"I really can't read another word, my eyes are falling off their sockets!" Silver whispered, breaking the silence of the group.

Blake nodded her head, grateful she too could take a break from reading. "I think we should call it a day."

Luna said nothing, it seemed she wasn't reading too much at all – or if she was, she had finished long ago because something other than her book had already caught her attention. Neville Longbottom had dropped a large pile of books he was putting back in place, causing a great disturbance in the library. Luna stood up and walked over to him slowly, he didn't notice her arrival, he was too embarrassed to look anywhere but down at the disheveled pile of books.

"Need help Neville?" Luna bent down without waiting for a response and began to help him collect the items straight away.

He looked up, his cheeks still flushed and his nose a bit red as well. "Uh, yes – er..Thanks."

He took in her appearance. Her messy long blonde hair fell over her shoulders and into her face, hiding it from plain view. She wasn't dressed in uniform, seeing as it was a Saturday afternoon, but instead she wore a strange combination of colors and prints – not one thing matching with another.

"There you go." Her small lips smiled a small smile and before he knew it, she was gone, taking a seat beside Hermione Granger.

"Be careful next time wont you Neville?" Hermione frowned, obviously worried about his clumsiness. He scratched the back of his head, his cheeks a bright red once again and said, "Yes, I will. Well, um, goodbye everyone." He waved awkwardly and disappeared into one of the shelves behind him.

"It's sad that that's the most exciting thing that has happened today." Silver said to Blake, frowning.

"Luna, are you blushing?" Ginny asked rather astonished, she had never caught Luna exhibiting any feelings really.

Luna simply smiled.

"And look she's smiling too isn't she?" Ginny said again, laughing this time.

Hermione widened her eyes at the inappropriate behavior being exhibited by her friend, "Will you keep it down Ginny ? We're in the library."

"You are absolutely right Hermione dear, I say we take this outside." Blake suggested.

"Lovely idea! All in favor say _I._" Silver prompted, staring down the girls sitting around her.

"I." Ginny, Blake, Luna, and Silver included all said together.

Hermione rolled her brown eyes. "Right, I suppose we could take a _small_ break."

Harry and Ron were already seated at their tables in the Great hall, eager for their meal, when Hermione arrived. She had that look in her face, that look that meant she was frustrated and a tad annoyed. Ron noticed and nudged Harry in the arm, prompting him to speak up and ask her what the matter was.

"No one's taking this seriously enough," Hermione complained, "the original plan was to study at the library halfway through lunch."

"Why would you want to miss half of your lunch? That's just…a nightmare." Ron interrupted her.

Hermione glared at him and then continued her rant, "I'll just have to study alone I suppose, it seems like I'm the only one who still _cares_ about my grades."

"We all care about our grades Hermione, it's just, we all aren't as persistent as you are." Harry tried to make her feel better, but he wasn't quite sure it was working.

She crossed her arms in front of her and scrunched her lips together, "And what about you two? What have the two of you been up to all morning?"

Ron looked at Harry, almost as if he was waiting for him to say something and when he didn't Ron opened his mouth to speak, "Harry's been having a vision lately. Well actually, this morning was the first time, but it happened twice. Tell her Harry." he said.

The tables began to fill up as more students piled into the hall, so he decided to make it quick before anyone decided to sit with them. "It's about Sirius, I don't know where he is, but I know he's in trouble." Harry said quietly.

Hermione furrowed her brows, "How can you be so sure Harry? Dumbledore said to be very careful with those visions, some of them might not be based on what's actually happening."

"Doesn't matter. If there's any chance of Sirius being in trouble, I'm not going to sit around and try to find out whether it's true or not. As soon as I find out where he is, I'm going to save him."

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry and then at each other, both with the same worried expressions on each of their faces.

The conversation back at the Ravenclaw took on a slightly lighter note. They were discussing the relevance of brooms and how it would affect their chances at winning the Quidditch cup with their match with the Gryffindors tomorrow.

"Potter's a good seeker, you've got to give him at least that much." Terry Boot argued amongst the heated argument around him.

"Not true. People feel sorry for him, that's why he always manages to win." A burly fourth year whom was on the team as a beater said.

"Cho's just got to give it her all tomorrow, isn't that right Cho?" Anthony Goldstein, being the captain of the Quidditch team, said to her from across the table.

Cho nodded and smiled, "We'll win. I'm sure of it."

"The Slytherins must be upset they didn't make it this far." Anthony then said to Terry, who laughed smugly.

Silver looked over at their table at the mention of their name, and locked eyes with Draco. He was already looking at her. She shifted her gaze, pretending to scan the rest of the table and then traveled over to the Hufflepuffs.

"He's staring at me." She mouthed to Blake, who was busy eating.

Blake looked, trying to not make it too obvious, but keeping an eye on him long enough to agree. "He's ruthless isn't he – isn't even blinking. I knew he wasn't human."

Silver raised a neatly groomed brow at her, causing Blake to only shrug. "He really isn't blinking. You can just look at him for a second and see for yourself."

Thank Merlin for the loud voices talking above each other in the dining hall. Blake had never been one to realize how loud her voice really was.

"I'm not going to look at him Blake, now finish eating before it gets cold." Silver reprimanded her, sounding a bit too mother –like for her taste but only because she really wanted to get off the topic of Draco.

"Alright mum." Blake winked.

The night before their first O.W.L was the worst, no one slept. The common room was bustling with activity as if it were a weekend afternoon. Everyone had their books sprawled over desks, couches, the floor, and some even their laps. Silver and Dominic were amongst those sitting uncomfortably on the floor, a piece of parchment on her lap and a pile of textbooks on the floor.

"I read and read, but the more the read, the less information I absorb. I think I might be doing something wrong.." Dominic clasped his hands over his head.

"No, no. I feel the same way, but it's alright. That just means your brain is slowly withering away to nothing from everything you're cramming into it." Silver said.

"Potions isn't too bad, I think I'm pretty well equipped for that one." Dominic said, rather accomplished.

"Yes, and it's the first one we have tomorrow morning so it'd be good to get that out of the way first."

Luna was probably the only fifth year student tucked away in bed. Not even the outrageously brilliant witches like Hermione Granger were confident enough to do such a thing.

"Fred and George had the right idea you know, dropping out." Ron was on the verge of falling asleep, as he laid his head on the armrest of the couch he and Hermione were snugly fit into. His head fell for only a second before it bounced up again, straightening itself.

"You call that an idea? An idea would require thinking Ron, and honestly, I'm almost certain they _weren't_ thinking when they decided to drop out. It's completely unethical, really." Hermione scolded him lifting her gaze up from inside her book to him.

"A bit dramatic there Hermione?" Ron narrowed his eyes at her and then looked across the room at Harry and Ginny who were sitting together on a small table together. Ginny had offered to help Harry organize everything for tomorrow. He wasn't very good at it himself, and Hermione already had her hands full looking after the sloppy mess that is Ron Weasley.

She noticed what was keeping him so engrossed and said, "It's sweet isn't it? The way Ginny's helping Harry."

Ron made a face. "More like strange if you ask me, why would Harry want to study with _her_? I mean, it's just Ginny."

Hermione rolled her eyes, he could be so dense at times. She knew exactly why Ginny was putting the extra effort to help Harry, it was an excuse to spend some time alone with him. And this reason she knew this was because that was the same exact reason why she bothered with Ron so much. She liked the time alone with him. He was almost sweet with her when Harry wasn't around.

"Ginny's a pretty girl Ron. You're going to have to realize that some day. There will come a time where boys _might_ actually think she's attractive."

Ron looked confused. "And what's that got to do with Harry?"

She rolled her eyes again and sighed. "Absolutely nothing."

"Then why'd you mention it for?"

She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "Just trying to make conversation I suppose."

"Oh." He stared at her. "Alright then."

She smiled quickly and then went back to reading. He observed her as her lips faded from a perky smile to a straight line again. He liked her smile, it made her look less serious. He yawned, the weight of his head seeming a bit too heavy for his neck to carry and so it fell again, but this time it landed on Hermione shoulder and stayed there.

"When you going to stop reading Malfoy?" Crabbe huffed, bored with the behavior of his friends.

"I'm studying Crabbe. Go play with Goyle." Draco drawled, shooing him away with his hands.

"Goyle fell asleep already."

"Then you should go to sleep too."

"But I'm not in the mood." Crabbe said stupidly.

"I don't care about your moods Crabbe, just let me study." He said, annoyed.

Crabbe got the hint and walked away, stepping over his feet as he made his way to the next couch. Draco heard Pansy scream, and then a slap, but he didn't bother to turn around. the reason he'd been studying for so long was because he kept re-reading the same line over and over again because he just couldn't seem to concentrate hard enough to memorize anything.

He lifted his head up from the book, his neck cracking from the stiff position it had been in for so long. He quickly scanned the room, mostly everyone had their faces dug into their books, and then he noticed Millicent and Blaise; They were both squeezed into a wide, green lounge chair which was solely meant for one person, but they obviously made due. Millicent's legs were stretched over him and her feet fell over the armrest, floating in the air while Blaise had his hands resting on her thighs, and his book in the space between her knees and his chest.

Draco pursed his lips together, the sight of the happy couple made his chest uneasy, and he wasn't very fond of that feeling.

Morning dawned on the sleepy students of Hogwarts the next day. The sunlight peeped in through the shades of the windows, alerting everyone of the start of a new day, which included the day of their first O.W.L exam.

Padma was already dressed, bag in one hand, a bundle of brand new quills in the other. "C'mon everyone, we need enough time to eat breakfast before we're off."

Luna was all done in the bathroom and as soon as she exited, Blake entered. And after Blake, Silver went in. in about half an hour they were all ready and headed down for their meal.

The first exams for the fifth years was Potions. They were all instructed to remain in the Great Hall, until Umbridge had arrived. Everyone did as they were told. Draco caught a glimpse of Silver moving amongst the crowd, but was distracted by the sound of the Professor/Headmistress/High Inquistors voice. Her footsteps echoed through the room as students parted to let her through, all scared to death of what she might do to them if they stood in her way. She smiled a broad hypocritical smile and waved her wand in front of her. Almost instantly, the tables were thrown flat against the walls and a few dozen elves came waddling in, laying out individual desks for each student.

The smile never left her face as she turned around to sit in one single chair that stood where the Professors usually sat for their meals. Once the elves were finished she spoke, "Please take a seat children, and don't bother with your quills. I have special ones for all of you."

Harry winced at the sound of that. He dearly hoped it wasn't the same quills she had used for his detention with her once. Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode were the first to take their seats, right in the front row. The rest did the same, walking down the aisles to find the seat furthest away from the vile woman. Silver and Dominic managed to grab two seats towards the back of the room, one in front of the other.

Silver leaned forward slightly and tapped him in the shoulder. "Good luck."

Dominic smiled and pat her on the hand, "Same to you. We're going to need it."

She straightened up in her seat again, noticing that the papers were being handed out to each student one by one.

"Ms. Hermione Granger." Professor Umbridge called out pleasantly, the Gryffindors were first to receive their exam papers. She continued to go down the list slowly, as the rest of the houses began to grow anxious in their seats. Silver heard two girls whisper something to each other about how unfair it was that Gryffindor always got chosen first for everything. She turned around to see whom the voices belonged to, it was two Slytherin girls she didn't recognize; She could only tell them apart by the green outlining on their robes. She continued to scan the left side of the room, and then directed her attention to the right side. Pavarti Patil, whom Silver recognized to be Padma's twin, strolled down the aisle from her seat in the very last row.

Just then at that very moment, she caught the sight of a blonde, nearly white, head of hair. A moment of panic restricted her from breathing for a second when she realized that he was sitting directly diagonal from her, but it seemed like he hadn't noticed or if he did, he simply chose to ignore her. Which would make sense to her. After all, he hated her right?

"Mr. Anthony Goldstein." Umbridge called out next.

The same Slytherin girls scowled, "Careful, watch we'll be last."

Luna skipped over to her, earning her a scowl from Umbridge, and then skipped back to her seat with exam in hand.

Umbridge looked down at her paper, staring at it for a minute with a hesitant expression in her face. "Ms. Silver Crouch or er- Potter, or is it Crouch?"

Silver's cheeks reddened to an impossibly bright shade of scarlet. How humiliating. She didn't answer her, choosing to walk over to her as fast as her legs could take her to avoid her from speaking about it any longer. Now she was beginning to regret sitting so far away. There was a shadow of murmured whispers that followed her as she passed, she could barely make them out, but she was thankful for that. Upon reaching closer to her destination, she noticed Pansy's pug-like face wrinkling up, glaring at her spitefully. She quickened her pace a bit as she climbed the steps up to Umbridge.

She was dressed entirely in pink, as usual, but today she carried an extra air of arrogance about her. She studied Silver before handing her the exam, not letting go when Silver tried to pull it away.

"So what is it then hm? Crouch or Potter?"

Umbridge spoke softly, but loud enough for nearly everyone to hear due to the silence the room was submerged in. Silver tried to pull the exam away from her but failed. She looked down into Umbridge's waiting face.

"I don't know." Silver croaked.

Her answer was true, she hadn't thought about it really. What would she be referred by from now on? Should she abandon the Crouch name, the only name she's known for fifteen years of her life, and take on the name she was born with? It was too much to process at a time like this. All she wanted to do was finish this exam and take a nap. But since when was anything that simple?

"Not to worry dear, we'll discuss this later – in my office." The tone of her voice frightened Silver, it almost sounded snake-like but she at least released her grip on the parchment enough for Silver to snatch it away from her.

She turned to face the ocean of faces curiously staring at her. Instinctively, she grabbed a strand of her long hair and began twirling it around her finger as she walked back to her seat, keeping her eyes fixated on the ground.

"Blake Trench." Umbridge continued reading off the list.

"Kill me." Silver whispered to Dominic as she plopped down on her seat.

"Too late for that, I think that right now took care of it." Dominic joked as he placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Don't worry about it, look at how popular you've gotten that even Umbridge has heard the news."

"I wouldn't exactly call it popularity Dom."

He shrugged," I would," And then turned around without another word.

Draco stared at her, watching closely as she went to Dominic Dates for consolation after the unnecessary reference Umbridge had imposed. He couldn't help but feel jealous, a few months ago that was him she would go to for comfort. And now, she didn't even seem to acknowledge his existence. Partially it was his fault he admitted, in spite of himself. It wasn't like he had tried to make any contact with her since that day. But despite their circumstances, he had been watching her, like he promised. With both his aunt Bellatrix and her 'father' Barty Crouch Jr. on the loose, there was always the possibility that she might be in potential danger. That's why he chose to stay at Hogwarts during the Easter holidays, because he didn't want to leave her at school. He didn't want anything to happen to her while he was away.

"Draco Malfoy."

_About time_, he thought to himself as he rose from his seat and strode down to take his exam. He was unaware of the way Silver watched him until the moment when he looked over at her before he bent to sit down. She looked down, like she always did and so he took his seat, hope dwindling that she would ever speak to him again until she turned her head again – but this time, she smiled and mouthed a quick 'good luck' to him before she broke her gaze.

He was so stunned, he didn't even find the time to wish her the same. But there was an irrepressible smile lingering on his lips that he didn't even realize was there. But then his bliss was cut short when Umbridge announced loudly that it was now the official start to the O.W.L. exams. And with that, everyone wet their quills in ink and began.

* * *

**Well, there it is! I hope you all liked it :)  
Thank you all for your reviews!! I loved them! And thanks for adding my story to your favorites!  
You're all amazing.**

**So I have some good news, and some bad news:**

**The good news is that there will be previews for all who review!**

**But the bad news is that unfortunately, there aren't many chapters left to the story :\  
But those last few chapters will definitely be action-packed! :)**

**Please review!**


	34. Missing student

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**Missing Student**

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"Last exam of the week and I couldn't be happier." Silver smiled. In truth, she could be happier but she made it a point to not think about it, although it was a lot harder not to linger on thoughts of Draco when she saw him every day.

"But don't get too wound up either, we've still got to get it done with before we can announce we're officially done with these horrid exams." Blake shuddered.

"Is that why you've slept in?" Luna suggested, standing beside Blake as they looked down at Silver whom was still wrapped in her covers.

Silver laughed, "No Luna, this wasn't done purposely. I was up for the better part of the night, Arithmancy isn't particularly easy for me. It's my worst subject."

"Alright then, we're going off to eat – make sure you meet us there before the test actually begins _please_." Blake pleaded with her, knowing very well how tardy her friend can be.

"Of course, of course. Now go off you two, have fun." Silver brushed them off, with a smile.

Blake gave her a warning glance, and Luna simply skipped out of the room without a care in the world.

"You see this? they're giving us twice the portions we usually receive!" Dominic was in the process of buttering his biscuit and chewing when Blake and Luna arrived.

"And I see you've already had a head start on mine have you?" Blake said, raising a brow at him.

"You really want it back?" He opened his mouth revealing a disgusting piece of half chewed bread.

Luna looked amused. "That's appalling Dominic." Savannah said.

He shrugged. "And Silver?"

"She's getting ready, she woke up right when we were about to leave."

Savannah laughed, "That doesn't surprise me the least bit."

Anthony heard the mention of Silvers name and carefully listened in.

"Listen, I know her and Harry are supposedly you know, brother and sister, but I haven't actually seen them together." Savannah whispered, just for Blake and Dominic to hear.

Blake didn't like it when Savannah got so nosey. "Oh, they are. I've seen them plenty of times, not that it's any of your business Savannah."

She seemed put out by Blakes retort. "I didn't mean it in a bad way, I was just curious is all."

A bit of tension crossed between Blake and Savannah and almost like a feeble attempt to escape the bad moment Luna announced, "I think I'm going to sit with Ginny today."

She skipped along to the Gryffindor table, leaving them two to their staring contest, to find Ginny sitting alone, Harry, Ron, or Hermione were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello." Luna waved.

Ginny grinned broadly. "Hi Luna." She waved back, "Aren't you grateful we're still fourth years? With the way that I've seen Ron studying, I don't think I ever want to pass on to the next year."

"I completely understand what you mean. But I'm sure we'll do find, just as long as we don't let the nargles interfere." She said, a small smile forming on her pink lips.

Ginny was about to speak when she noticed Harry and the others walking through the doors.

"We heard something, something loud." Ron's voice got a little pitchy when he spoke, not even waiting until he was in closer perimeter to Ginny.

Neville squealed involuntarily, jumping out of his seat in horror. "That sounds bad doesn't it? Something terrible has happened!"

"Relax Neville." Hermione brought order to the group of boys, "We just heard something, we can't be sure of anything."

Luna inched closer to him and put her hand on his, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about Neville." Her eyes were unfocused, but reassuring.

"We should tell McGonagall, just to be safe." Harry said.

"Right, but can we wait 'til after we eat? There's so much food!" Ron was already drooling over his plate.

They agreed, convincing themselves it was probably nothing. Hogwarts was full of strange sights and sounds, which made it normal to find something strange every now and then.

The bell rang, signaling that it was time for the fifth years to get to their final examinations, and time for the rest of the students to get to their respective classes.

Blake looked around, searching for Silver, but it seemed that she hadn't been able to make it in time. There were still a few minutes. After all, Umbridge still had to wait for everyone to clear the hall so she could once again transform it into a classroom.

But even after that was done, and everyone had taken a seat – she was still nowhere to be found. They went through the same process, Umbridge the dictator called them each up by name, which all in all took up at least thirty minutes to call every single fifth year.

"Silver Crouch Potter?" it was the second time Umbridge had called her name and she was growing annoyed.

"Is Potter Silver Crouch here or not?" She asked, looking directly at Harry whom seemed just as puzzled as she was.

"Where's Silver gone to? Was she at breakfast?" Harry whispered behind him to Hermione. Her strong face fell, growing worried. "I didn't notice really." She said softly.

"Failure to attend an O.W.L exam is a very, very serious offense." Umbridge clenched her fists. "No make-ups, I made myself perfectly clear." She walked back to her extravagant chair and wrote something on the parchment that was meant to be Silver's exam. She left it there, and then walked back to her original spot. "Padma Patil."

Draco's face fell, losing its usual edge, but not enough for anyone to notice. He had looked for her that morning, but he hadn't seen her. And now she was still nowhere to be found. He wanted to leave the room and go look for her, but he knew he couldn't. Eventually she'll be back, she must've just lost track of time.

A few minutes into the exam, there was a loud rap on the door. Professor Umbridge lifted her eyes up from scrutinizing the students to look at where the disturbance was coming from. She had locked the doors before the exam to prohibit any entrance and exit from the room without her permission.

"Alohamora." She waved her wand, unlatching the lock of the large wooden doors.

A tall, robed figure emerged from the other side, his cloak billowing behind him. Snape didn't even bother to regard that he was walking into the examinations room, he simply continued walking at an accelerated pace which seemed very unusual for him.

He stopped a few feet in front of where Umbridge was. He seemed like he had something urgent to say, but instead of alluding to secrecy, like everyone thought he would, he spoke out for the entire room to hear.

"There has been an intrusion in the school." Snape said, a bit too panicky for his taste.

Her face was disbelieving. "There couldn't be Severus. Everything's under control here, trust me."

He shook his head, "No it isn't you retched old witch." His voice was cold, "There is a wall missing in one of the towers. The west side of the school is completely exposed to the outside."

A sea of gasps emerged from behind him, mostly coming from the students with whom had a blue outlining on the robes. "The west side Professor?" Blake stood up from her seat, tucked away in a corner of the classroom, "As in _our_ tower? Ravenclaw tower?"

Professor Snape only looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

Padma was the next to speak, "Who's done it and why would they choose to come in through that side of the school?" She was ready to get to work, after all she was prefect and her job was to protect the school and her house.

"We haven't figured out who's done it Patil, if we had I wouldn't have bothered to alert the rest of the school." Snape drawled.

Blake feared the worst, she knew the answer to what she was about to ask, but she had to ask anyways. "Was there ..was there anyone in the tower at the time of the attack?"

Snape gave his back to the students, now facing Umbridge. "Two have been injured, but they've already been sent to the infirmary. One is…." He paused, "…missing." His mouth tightened unpleasantly.

Blake felt her heart sink to her stomach. "Where's Silver?"

It was the lack of responsiveness from Snape that drove Harry mad, "They've taken her haven't they? She's the one missing!" he demanded, sounding accusatory towards Umbridge.

Snape still had no answer to give them, but the look on Umbridge's face was enough. Silver had been kidnapped.

It was at that moment that Draco rose from his seat and rushed out of the hall, running past students that were already huddled in the halls waiting for further instruction from Snape. His chest felt heavy, and his throat twisting into a knot. The stairs were endless, he kept a firm hold on the rail so he wouldn't slip and fall in the landings which he practically jumped through. Finally, he reached where he had so desperately been trying to get to. And indeed, there was a gap in Ravenclaw tower.

He sank to his knees in despair. He promised nothing would happen to her, he told her nothing would. And in just a minute's time she was taken away and who knows to where. His mind started reeling horrible thoughts in his head, he pictured her alone, helpless, probably beaten. And although that was bad, he didn't want to think of the next worst possible thing after that.

"Oh no." A voice came from behind him, apparently he had followers. Blake Trench, one of Silver's closest friends, stood beside him. Her hands were trembling slightly as she clasped them over her mouth.

Dominic Dates came rushing behind her, stopping in front of them. "Who was hurt?" he asked suddenly.

Padma emerged, she was the last to walk in because she had gone off to speak to the professors about the matter. "Lucinda Lyons, Sienna Cooper, and Bradley Flee. They're all first years."

It wasn't before long that the rest of the Ravenclaw house had heard about the incident and joined the fifth years. Savannah, a sixth year, had been in class when she heard the news. She navigated her way through the crowd, scanning every face she encountered until she found the one face she was looking for. "Terry!" She cried, throwing her arms around her boyfriend. "Oh when I heard a fifth year was missing, I almost- oh my god Terry, I was so scared it was you." She was on the verge of tears.

He passed a soothing hand down her back, pulling her closer to him. "It's alright Savannah. Everythings alright."

But everything wasn't alright, Draco wanted to yell. How could everyone be so _calm?_

"Order!" A small voice tried to break through the crowd. "Order everyone! I will have order!" a white light shot up to the ceiling, abruptly silencing the crowd.

"We will continue the day as planned. Fifth years back to your exams and the rest of you," Umbridge looked around at them sternly, "back to classes."

No one said a word. Reluctantly, one by one, each student turned around and headed back to where they belonged when suddenly, "How can we go back to taking our exams now? Silver's missing!"

Harry hadn't moved from where he stood, although he was instructed to do otherwise, and turned around to see a sight he wouldn't believe himself if it hadn't been that he was witnessing it with his own eyes. Draco Malfoy stood alone, his arms hanging from his sides.

Umbridge was taken aback, "Excuse me Mr. Malfoy?"

"Has anyone even gone out looking for her?" he continued, dismissing his perfect decorum.

"That really isn't any of your business Mr. Malfoy. We, the staff, will take care of this."

"No you wont." Harry Potter said, to the shock of others. Were Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter actually agreeing on something? "You couldn't care less what happens to her!" the anger in his voice was rising, "You tried to _kill_ her in the beginning of the year!"

"Don't you dare use that tone of voice with me Potter! I could expel you right here, right now –"

"So you admit it then?" Draco prompted, with a look that made Umbridge a bit nervous.

"No! Why would I do such a thing to a student? Potter lies! We all know it, he's lied about _everything._"

Harry stepped forward, cutting through the mass of students. "Just like I lied about how Voldermorts returned?"

She tried to step back, but was held in place by a barrier Dominic had formed with Terry and Anthony. "He-who-must-not-be-named has _not_ returned! I assure you – "

Harry was tempted to grab a hold of his wand, but instead stuck out a menacing finger at her. "He _is_ back! And you know it."

Umbridge turned around, coming face to face with Dominic who was easily a foot taller than she was. "Back to the Great hall everyone! Or I will expel you _all._" She threatened.

"You can't do that. Then there'd hardly be any students left." Dominic shrugged, "I think we have questions that need to be answered, and you aren't doing a very good job at it Professor."

She stood silent, not as confident as before as she scanned through the mass of students gathered around her. An array of eyes all penetrating through her, slicing her snob resilience into shreds. She desperately hoped for an interruption, she needed some sort of mediator. She was very much scared the students would go mad and attack. But her prayers were answered, unfortunately, in the form of Snape'stall figure, sauntering down to her. He stared at the students from under his hooked nose, emitting a feel of a superiority he held above them. They all stepped back, making room for the intimidating Professor. Right behind him followed the more caring McGonagall.

A swell of relief washed through everyone at the sight of her. She would know what to do in Dumbledore's absence, her actions would be closest to what he would've done. "All of you, back to the Dining Hall. We will instruct you further once you arrive. Travel together, no one separate or wander off alone. You will not be going back to your dormitories tonight. " she finished her speech and searched the crowds.

"Weasley." She called out, "Granger, and Malfoy – gather the rest of the prefects and follow me."

Draco and Harry exchanged a look before he went off to find Pansy. It wasn't kind, nor was it hateful. But at that moment they realized, in one way or another, one would somehow come to the aid of the other if they ever wanted to recuperate Silver and bring her back, safe.

Draco walked, nodded at Pansy to follow him, and continued after McGonagall behind Hermione and Ron. He was losing his patience, the silence was killing him. The corridors were vacant, except for a couple that had seemed to take advantage of the sudden evacuation for a good snog.

"Ms. Brown! Please direct yourself, along with Mr. Finnigan to the Great Hall, _immediately_." She almost jumped at the end of her sentence, clearly upset with the lack of respect the couple had exhibited by disobeying her orders.

Once they reached her office, she wasted no time getting down to business. Before she even turned to take a seat behind her desk, she began, "At seven o'clock this morning we received word from Mr. Fortescue that Bellatrix Lestrange was sighted in Diagon Alley." She passed a long, hard stare at each of them and landed on the cold eyes of Draco Malfoy, whom had a disconcerted look on his pointed face.

She continued, "At seven fifteen this morning, he once again owled to inform us that he heard two dwarves on their way from Knockturn alley discussing the appearance Barty Crouch Jr. in Borgin and Burkes."

Ron didn't like where this was headed, and by the way Hermione continued to shift uncomfortably in her seat, he was sure she didn't either.

McGonagall directed her stern eyes to the oak of her desk, clasping her hands together in front of her. "It is very possible that one of them," she adjusted her spectacles, "or perhaps both, are responsible for the disappearance of Silver Crouch."

"Potter." Ron corrected her.

Hermione tapped his arm, shushing him. "But professor, what would they possibly want to do with her?" she creased her brows in thought. "It seems very direct, planned in fact. If you notice, they knew exactly where to find her."

"Thank you for stating the obvious Granger." Draco sneered, "What really matters, is that she isn't here. We don't know here she is. How do we get her back?"

Hermione flushed, "Well Malfoy, we need to understand the background before we devise a plan."

Draco was about to speak when McGonagall interrupted him.

"Oh no Ms. Granger. The reason I have gathered you all here is not for you to take action on your on part. This is left solely up to us. We only need for you, as the prefects, to keep your houses in order. The last thing we need is for another student to go missing."

Draco's heart sank. This was really happening; or rather it had already happened. Silver was really missing. And his aunt was probably the one to have done it. He was furious and he was aching to escape from her watch and find a way to get to the manor. He would find her there, hopefully.

Anthony crossed his arms in front of him, not sure what to think, except that he wasn't happy with how eager Malfoy seemed to want to find her. What did she even see in him? In that Malfoy git. He was alright looking, he guessed, but overall – he sucked as a person. He was bad news and he always would be no matter how life altering this incident seemed to be for him.

He looked around, Pansy seemed indifferent enough - her smug face revealed the complete opposite of concern. Granger had her arm on Weasley's probably milking the moment as much as she could. Although they both did seem genuinely worried. Anthony's eyes darted back to Draco, whom still had a pathetic expression plastered on his face. Who was he fooling? Not Anthony that was for sure. And while his thoughts continued to lead him to unplesant thoughts of others, Professor McGonagall dismissed the prefects and sent the off to resume their duties in the Great Hall.

Students were clammering together, excited to all be residing in one place. No longer was there a distinction amongst the memebers of each house. Night had fallen and everyone had already changed into their night robes so it was nearly impossible to keep track of whom you were responsible for.

"Er..Ron." Hermione said quietly, barely mouthing the words, "Is that girl there, is she in Gryffindor?"

Ron squinted to get a better view, "No, I think she's Ravenclaw?" He asked more than answered.

She groaned in frustration, "Ugh this is impossible!" She let her knees bend and fell to the floor, hiding her face in her hands.

Ron stood for a moment, long enough to witness Hermione Granger crumbling to pieces before him. "Hermione? Really if we can't find everyone I'm sure another prefect will take care of it."

She kept her face buried into her knees and sighed, "What's going to happen Ron? What happens if they don't find her?"

Ron furrowed his brows, confused, "Hermione, I"m sure they will. The dining hall isn't all that large and there's a professor at every corner I bet."

This time she lifted her head up and stared straight into his blue eyes when she spoke, "I mean Silver. What if they don't find Silver?" She said rather exasperated.

The girl they were talking about earlier walked right in front of Ron, laughing with a girl he knew belonged in Ravenclaw. "This here, this is just for Gryffindors, stop confusing us will you!" he snapped suddenly.

The brunette stopped to look at him, scrutinizing him with her brown eyes, "I am a Gryffindor Weasley. Heck of a prefect you are, not even recognizing me." And after another nasty stare, she walked off.

Ron made a noise and passed an anxious hand through his red hair, frustrated with the situation at hand, when he heard a small chuckle coming from below him. It was Hermione, and she was sitting there, staring at him and giggling. _The girl's got mental, she has_,he thought to himself. "Hermione you aren't laughing are you?"

Instead of answering him, she just continued to laugh to herself, every now and then stealing a glance at him and laughing some more. He couldn't even believe it, was she laughing at him?

Hermione seemed to have read his thoughts and answered, between short elapsed laughs, "You just snapped at her! I've never seen you _that_ upset at anyone Ron! Well except for maybe when your around Fred and George."

He thought for a moment at what she had said, slowing digesting it and clearly not realizing that his outburst was in any way funny. And the face he made forced Hermione to only continue her insatiable giggles. Not before long did he too fall down beside her and join her laughing.

From within the groups of chaotic students, Draco watched on, an abiding frown clouding his handsome features.

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**A/N:Thank you to all my reviewers! (:  
Please keep them coming.**

**In this chapter you get a little more insight into the minds of Ron, Hermione, Anthony, and Draco since Silver is no longer in this picture, for now at least.  
Previews for all who review!**


	35. Far Apart

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**Far Apart**

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Sleep didn't come that night. At least not for Draco it didn't. He turned on his side, and stared out in front of him. his unfocused eyes tried to make sense of the wall ahead of him, it was too dark to see it completely. But after a few short moments he grew bored of it and turned to the other side, this time to face the large dome shaped window in the boys dormitories.

Small drops of rain crashed into the glass, disintegrating as soon as they did to smaller drops, and then into streams of rain running down the window. A tree swayed in the harsh winds, slightly scratching the window once. But then the wind pushed it in the opposite direction, as if it was warning it to never touch the walls of Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, it seemed his aunt had never received that message.

He shook off the thought, but couldn't. His mind was firing away with thoughts of her from the past, memories of the present, and her undetermined future. But if one thing was determined was that Draco would find her. He would bring her back to him. He would apologize and she would take him back, hopefully. And then he would never let anything like this ever happen again.

But his thoughts spoke in the hope that he couldn't himself manage to find within him. He didn't know where to start, where to go. How would he even begin?

His mind started turning, hard at work to find a solution. And then it hit him, his father _must_ know something about this. He wouldn't tell him if he asked, that much was obvious. But his mother would have a bit more sympathy. He just needed to find a way to access the school floo system, that way he would be able to reach his house unnoticed. Or at least unnoticed until Umbridge noticed he wa missing.

He couldn't use Dumbledores fireplace, his office had been strictly labeled as off limits since his disappearance. And the only other he was aware of was the fireplace in Umbridge's office. He winced at the consequences he would endure if she were to ever find out. So in order to avoid that, he decided to go, right now. All he had to do was walk around where Filch usually patrolled, and if he was caught he would just make something up. If worse came to worse and he didn't believe him..

Draco freed himself from his covers and sat up just enough to reach over to the trunk at the foot of his bed to pull out his wand. He finished getting out of bed, careful no tot make any noise and noiselessly pulled out a change of clothes and his robes from his trunk.

He was satisfied with his clothing of choice, a casual suit inched in black from head to toe. His robes were tied over, for even more camouflage. The halls were dark, almost eerie. He stepped ever so gently on the hard floor, aware of how slow of a pace he was actually walking. He stopped. From a distance, he heard muttered voices arguing. He swallowed hard and reached for his wand, ready to put his persuasion skills to use. He rounded the corner, sticking out his blonde head of hair, which wasn't very good at camouflaging.

"That was delightful your highness." A woman's boisterous voice sounded, "Please sing to us again!"

There was a round of applause and then a man spoke, "Why of course, anything for my loyal subjects."

Draco sighed, it was only the paintings talking amongst themselves. He mentally slapped himself for being so paranoid and continued walking. He was drawing nearer to Umbridge's office and found it surprisingly odd that he hadn't had any difficulty on the way here. It was quite strange to say the least, especially if the school was on high alert, like they claimed it was. But at least they had allowed them back to their dormitories.

He darted up the steps, careful of his surroundings, and unlatched the door to her office with a quick alohamora spell. He grinned to himself, quite pleased with how far he had come. But then his breath caught in his throat, Umbridge was fast asleep in the large armchair behind her desk. He hesitated for a moment, not sure whether he should just turn around and forget about it. No, that wasn't even an option at this point.

He held in his breath, scared that it would somehow wake her and securely returned his wand to a pocket in his robes, exchanging it for a handful of floo powder. He daintily stepped around her, still not breathing. Without a second thought he threw the powder in. She groaned behind him and moved around her seat, but by the time she had turned around, he was gone.

It was quick and a bit revolting, but after a long fall and a series of sudden twists and turns he found himself in the living room of his house. A green light emitted from behind him, illuminating the dark room. He was here, now what? He asked himself. Was he really expecting it would be alright to simply approach his father about the matter at hand and demand an answer? He was scared and it made no use to hide it.

The familiar clean smell of his house filled his nostrils. And then he noticed something odd, the room was rather unkempt. There were pillows scattered on the soft carpet. Some books were misplaced, not perfectly settled into their spot on the bookshelves. He took a few steps forward, examining the room.

"Why is this.." He began, bending at his knees to reach down and grab a pillow off the floor.

Then a flash of light broke into the room, a light coming from beneath the door that lead straight into the kitchen. He stood frozen in place while he felt his stomach turn inside out.

"Ha ha ha!" Bellatrix's singsong voice rang through the gaps of the door and into the rest of the house. "We've done it! Oh, I could practically _feel_ his pleasure." She lowered her voice. "We'll have that prophecy in our hands in no time. Potter will lead us right to it."

Draco's chest felt heavy. What Potter were they speaking of exactly?

Then it was silent, Bellatrix's humming came to an abrupt stop and the door suddenly swung open.

"Draco." She smiled maliciously.

"I need to see mum." He demanded.

She laughed derisively, "Mummy isn't here Draco. But who needs her when your Aunt Bella is here?"

"Where is she?" his voice lowered to a deadly whisper.

Bellatrix widened her eyes. "Now that, I couldn't possibly tell you."

"I know it was you, I know you're responsible for breaking into Hogwarts." Draco lashed at her accusingly.

She threw her hand over her chest, "Why ever would you think such a thing? My own nephew! Accusing me of these…horrors." Her lips twitched into a broader smile.

"Why Silver? If you're after Potter, why didn't you go after him?"

She pouted, "I thought you were smarter than that Draco. Truly, I'm quite put off by your lack of cunning." She stepped towards him, "It's quite obvious isn't it? Shes bait."

He fought the urge to just pummel her to the ground. He wouldn't lose it now. Now's when he needed to remain perfectly composed more than ever. But something else caught his eye, another figure entering the room through the hallowed halls that led to the west side of the house. A raggedy figure, torn clothes hung limply from the body. And just barely, but almost at an instant, Draco recognized him.

"Barty Crouch Jr." he sneered at him, "What do you think you're doing infecting the manor with your presence?"

"Ah," Barty's weathered face wrinkled, "Like father like son."

"And when father finds out you're here-"

He was interrupted by Barty's hoarse laughter, "Don't you know? You're father _invited_ me."

Now he was trapped, what more could he say. He wasn't supposed to speak ill to the deatheaters and he had done just that.

"Shouldn't you be in school Draco?" Bella prompted curiously, "I understand Hogwarts' has been on highest guard since the attack earlier this week." She smiled conceitedly.

"Yes, but like I said before, I needed to speak to my mother about something urgent."

"Ah, I see. Well then, off you go, back into the fireplace, sprinkle some floo, make sure you don't get caught on your arrival."

-

It wasn't that she had all of a sudden become blind?

No, she was sure she hadn't. Silver thought it would feel different, to lose her vision that is. It would probably be a feeling, something in the pit of your stomach that would alert you at that very instant of you losing your sight. But if she didn't know any better, she would've thought she had.

The floor beneath her was hard as stone, cold, rough. Silver heard a scratching noise as the hem of her school skirt rubbed against the rocky floor as she shifted positions. Where was this place? What had happened? The last thing she remembered was getting up from bed and then…

She struggled to remember, but her ability to concentrate was diminishing. She was more concerned with how she would go back home, back to Hogwarts. Looking around, or what she could best try to manage to see in the complete darkness, she then decided to stick an arm out in front of her and see what would happen. If there was anything blocking her, she would soon find out.

Nothing. Silver reached out to grab a handful of air, much to her relief. She sighed, exhaling loudly. With a new seed of enthusiasm planted within her system, she hoisted herself off the ground slowly so she wouldn't bump her head with anything unexpected either. As soon as she stood up a striking pain traveled through her spine causing her to bend over, clinging on to her stomach in pain. She winced, laying her hand on her back. With no recollection of how she'd arrived her, she couldn't conjure up a reason for her ailment. The most she could think of was that she must've been lying on the less than accommodating floor for too long.

Once more, she straightened her body, keeping a firm hold on her back and another on her stomach. The pain was relentless, it pierced straight across her entire back whenever she took a step forward. But with time, she would lean to ignore it, because no matter what happened to her, she wasn't going to give up. She hadn't the slightest idea on how she had gotten here or who had brought her and why, but she was determined to find a way out.

With the sudden adrenaline rushing around her, she almost forgot about how truly terrified she was. Because for a fact, Silver Crouch was frightened to death of being lost, alone. That was something she loathed, being alone. At least when there was another person around, you had company. And it wasn't so quiet. She never realized how daunting silence could be until now. Until all she could hear was the sound of her own breathing and the cracks of rocks moving under her black flats. She shivered as a sudden gust of cold wind whirled her skirt up as goose bumps rose on the skin of her legs and arms.

Her breath caught and she froze. There couldn't possibly be anyone else in here could there?

Gosse bumps formed once again, but not because of the cold but because of the new daunting fear that there was someone else travelling down this dark, silent path as well. Someone like her captor coming to find her after they'd realized their hostage had gone missing. She shivered involuntarily. Or just maybe, could it be someone coming to save her? On a mission to take her back to where she was safe. Someone like….She couldn't find it in her to finish the thought. Because at the mere mention of thinking about Draco in her mind, she could feel her throat swell up. One of the symptoms that would later make her break down in tears, a sign of weakness. And a sign of weakness was something she could no longer afford.

It wasn't worth it, not the least bit worth it. How would anyone even know where to come find her if she was unsure of where she was herself; it was impossible. It was all up to her. But first thing is first. She needed to find a way out of this cave sort of thing she was trapped in.

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**gahh im so sorry I took so long to update! :\  
it's been so hectic with work & school.  
So until that all simmers down, I wont be able to update as frequently as I usually do**

**A big thank you to all my lovely reviewers!  
Please keep them coming! The more you beg for my next chapter the faster i'll update! :)**


	36. Hints? Clues? Anything

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**Hints? Clues? Anything.**

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"This is outrageous. Has it come to this? There is not an ounce of security left in Hogwarts?" Remus Lupin put his hand to his forehead as if he were alleviating a terrible migraine.

"Not with Umbridge in charge, my friend." Sirius Black leaned against the nearest wall, crossing his arms in front of him.

"What are we to do now hm? Do we have _any_ idea on where we can find her?" Remus said, growing more frustrated.

"That question in itself is fairly easy to answer Remus. Of course Voldermort has ordered one of his minions to kidnap her for some unworldly purpose we will never be aware of. "

Remus removed the hand from his forehead, bringing it down on his lap. "It's obvious he's taken her because he's after Harry. Silver is, unfortunately, his bait."

"So we can be sure he will not harm her until he has a hold of Harry first."

"We can't put him in that sort of danger. Neither of them can be put at risk." Remus reprimanded.

"The boy has said it himself! He wants to help and the only way to get Silver back is by complying with Voldermort's ludicrous plan." Sirius began to walk towards him. "But of course we'll find a way to outsmart him."

Remus was about to speak when suddenly the door swung open, revealing a disheveled form of Arthur Weasley. "They're all gone!" he cried frantically, "They've all gone.."

Molly Weasley came in after him, tears freely falling across her cheeks and off her chin. Arthur noticed her come in after him and put a protective arm around his wife. "Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione have left the school grounds! We don't know where they've gone!" Arthur said desperately trying to regain his composure.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other seriously.

"You told him didn't you? You told Harry that Silver was just a way to get to him didn't you?" Remus was livid.

Sirius took a step back away from his friend, "No! I would never put him in harm's way! I've never spoken to him about it."

Remus seemed to have collected himself. He put his hands out in front of him in apology. "Forgive me will you? I shouldn't have accused you in such a manner.."

Sirius looked at Remus with sympathy, he knew exactly how he felt. They were both in danger of losing someone very dear to them, each could very well never see their godchildren again.

"We'll get them back Remus."

-

Silver continued trudging down the meaningless path of darkness she had now been on for what seemed hours. Of course she wouldn't know because there wasn't the slightest clue of how many hours, possibly days, she had been traveling. It was only the churning sounds of her intestines begging her for food and the insatiable dryness in her mouth that told her it had been hours since last she had drank or eaten anything.

The atmosphere had grown colder and now she was beginning to regret leaving her robes somewhere behind her. They were damp, and thus had become heavy to carry – a burden for the unrelenting pain in her lower back. But she wasn't about to turn back, firstly because she didn't know what direction she had come from and secondly, she was still paranoid thinking there was someone following her. If she turned around, she would crash straight into them.

-

"I don't know how I feel about flying on something I can't see Harry." Ginny confessed as he helped mount her upon the thestral that was about to take them far off to save Sirius.

"It's alright Ginny, I see it. Look its right under you. I promise ill fly behind you." Harry smiled reassuringly.

Luna helped Neville onto his thestral and then moved on to Hermione. Once everyone was boarded safely, Luna mounted her ride and easily took the lead. "Alright everyone, just kick at their sides twice and.." Before she could finish, she was sent flying off into the air.

Hermione looked at her dubiously. Luna seemed to be flying, no broom and certainly no thestral.

"It's here Hermione, just believe it's true. You can't just be floating now can you?" Ron smiled.

Hermione seemed to be analyzing his question, rummaging through her brain for a spell that could possibly levitate her body. But Ron seemed to notice and stopped her before she could find an answer, "Just give me your hand." And with that he took a hold of her hand, not waiting for her permission and kicked the air beneath him twice.

The wind gently whipped Harry's cheeks as he leaned over, closer to the long neck of the animal. He tried to enjoy the freedom of flying, the same feeling he experienced when he first learned to ride his broom. He was away from the troubles of the world. Voldermort didn't exist when he was flying, no one was after him, and he was truly happy. But it was different this time – Harry wasn't flying to beat the competing seeker in order to catch the snitch in a quidditch match nor was he flying for the pure enjoyment of it. Something greater was troubling his mind.

Hermione had told him that it was all fake, the dreams that continued to haunt him were simply ploys Voldermot himself had planned. But Harry didn't want to risk it. in his dreams, or rather nightmares, Harry saw Sirius, his beloved godfather, on the verge of being murdered by the dark lord. Fake or not, he would soon enough find out. But if that were the case, if Hermione were right, there was still something else he needed to reclaim – his sister. Where else would she be kept if not in the clutches of the only man whom would do anything to have him killed before his very eyes.

Sirius was right when he spoke to him some weeks ago. Silver _was_ in danger. And now it was too late to do anything to prevent it. it was obvious, how could he have been so dense? Voldermort was back, and he was going to do anything in his power to get to Harry. Even if that meant killing the only two people whom he considered to be family.

"Shouldn't you be in school Draco?" Bella prompted curiously, "I understand Hogwarts' has been on highest guard since the attack earlier this week." She smiled conceitedly.

"Yes, but like I said before, I needed to speak to my mother about something urgent."

"Ah, I see. Well then, off you go, back into the fireplace, sprinkle some floo, make sure you don't get caught on your arrival."

"Draco, darling, what are you doing here?" Narcissa rushed through the open kitchen door breathlessly.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, annoyed. Draco heaved a sigh of relief. "Mother, I need to speak to you."

His mother's tired eyes glanced over at Bellatrix and Barty wearily, as if she were waiting for their objection. "Come with me."

He did as he was told, rushing past his aunt to follow his mother. She sped up a flight of stairs, never looking back at him. He noticed her breathing pattern was undone, she was practically panting. "Mum, you alright?"

She continued to walk rapidly, down a corridor and up another flight of stairs. He followed patiently until she unlocked the door of a room in the far corner of the west wing, a room he never knew existed. She entered first, leaving the door open for him to walk through and then ordering him to shut it immediately.

Her eyes looked wild, as if she was constantly searching for something. "The Dark Lord has returned Draco, as you know of course.." she stood in the middle of the room, her eyes never settling on one single object. "..I hate that I have to ask so much of you, my son, I'm afraid.." she bit her lip, "your father managed to convince me it was alright to take Silver, all they needed was Harry after all he said. But – but she's missing. They can't find her. She disappeared this morning and they can't imagine where she's gone off to. I feel at fault, I shouldn't have let him take her – "

"What do you mean she's _missing?_ Her captor's have lost their hostage?" he spat, irony evident in his voice.

"You know her Draco, I'm sure once the spell wore off she went off trying to find a means of escape. She's brave, Silver – but I'm afraid it'll work against her." She fought the urge to cry in front of Draco, but she didn't know how much longer she would be able to hide it.

"Where are they keeping her?" Draco asked.

She hesitated. "It's far too dangerous, I wont let you go."

He turned his mother, grabbing her shoulders to turn her to face him. "Mum, _please_, where is she?"

For once her eyes set on his, and she could feel the grief hidden beneath his cold grey eyes. Her son cared, he truly cared. She had never seen him so motivated, so determined; he wanted Silver back and she was sure he would do whatever it took for that to happen. "They, She was – there's an underground system of caves under the official headquarters of the ministry of magic. She was, rendered unconscious and – and thrown into the darkest, most secluded corner of one in specific, that is an area where she could be watched. She could be anywhere inside, and there's no way out unless you are released by someone from the outside. If – if no one finds her, she'll….be stuck in there forever."

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I'm sorry my updates are taking so long! I promise I'll work on getting the next chapter updated asap!  
Thank you all for your reviews, they were wonderful as always (:  
Please keep them coming.  
There will be a preview for all who review!

There's a lot going on with several different characters in this chapter, so let me know if its confusing in any way.  
I hope it was worth the wait (:


	37. Scream

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**Scream**

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**

Something wet landed on her cheek, disturbing her sleep. In truth she hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep, she must've been too tired to realize it. She drew her hand up to her face to touch the area that had been dampened and then looked around her, propping her body up with her hands. it wasn't as dark as it had been before. But she concluded that was because her eyes had probably adjusted to the darkness after so many hours. A small sound churned inside her stomach; she was hungry.

Insects were the last thing Silver considered to be a source of food, but she was now seriously considering it, if she ever found one that is. It seemed like she was completely alone in whatever this place was. Except for that sound, the small footsteps she couldn't help but imagine were behind her. But it was impossible, it had been hours and there wasn't anything there. Unless it's purpose was to remain hidden.

"Agh!" she screamed, breaking the emanating silence around her. The sound of her voice echoed around her, a few rocks and stones pulsating along with it. A tear escaped her tired eyes, lingering on the edge of the rim of her eyes and then making its way down the side of her nose. The taste of saline reached her dry lips. She was thirsty as well.

Frustration was clouding the determination she once felt to free herself. She didn't know where to go, what to do. All she wished was for a way out and back to her friends. Didn't anyone realize she was missing? Didn't Draco realize she was gone? His name caused a trail of fresh new tears to form and fall freely down her face. Wasn't he out looking for her? There was noise again, the sound of her choked sobs and short breaths now bounced off the rock-strewn walls and back into her ears. It was nauseating, to hear herself cry. She was wasting her time just crying there, alone and she was well aware of it but she didn't know what else to do.

_Draco stopped walking and glanced at her momentarily."You're going to get sick." He grabbed her arm and hurried her into a covered area of the pitch. The dimly lit changing room, full of their uniforms and brooms, was fortunately still open and he led her inside. He then went on to the lockers, rummaging through his designated alcove for his uniform robes. He dusted them off a bit as he walked over to her and placed it around her shoulders._

"_Thanks" she mumbled. Her hands touched his when she went to grab the black fabric and pull it tighter around her neck._

_The electricity was back, and this time he couldn't find it in him to pretend it wasn't there. Despite his previous promises. He planted his hands on hers, keeping them in place when she made the effort to jerk them away._

"_Don't mention it." The smug look on his face had completely disappeared, exposing a more vulnerable expression. He involuntarily found his head lowering until it was at eye level with her. He stepped forward, closing the space between them to to nearly an inch. Her stomach lurched in knots and she felt her heart beating so loudly, she was almost sure it had leaped out of her chest. A faint blush spread on her cheeks which he found so amusing. His fingers gently touched the blush, which deepened on contact._

_She lifted her arms cautiously, firmly placing them on his chest and now it was his turn to question where his heart might have wandered off too. The rapid thumping he felt cradled under her thin fingers was a sure sign that she had found it. A set of dimples surfaced at the curl of her lips. "Silver." She felt his hot breath on her face and for a second thought her knees were going to give out. "I-"_

Her head fell back into the wall behind her as she pulled her knees up to her chest for comfort. Her breathing was steadier now, but the tears were still free falling. She stared up into the endless darkness above her as her mind took her back to happier times, times where she wasn't stuck in a cave.

"_Orchid. Raspberries and Orchid." He muttered under his breath. She quit sniffing and pulled away, puzzled. "what did you say?"_

"_That's what you smell like Raspberries and Orchid." Draco repeated._

"_That's right." She tilted her head to the side._

"_It's your favorite – flower that is." He looked as if he had spoken too much._

_She smirked. "You remember after all these years? I'm very impressed Draco Malfoy."_

"_It smells really good." He mused as he played with a strand of her black hair._

_She watched him pensively and did the most unexpected thing she had been waiting to do for weeks. She got on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his, without giving herself any time to think it over. It started off slowly, he was more surprised than anything else at what she had done. But once he realized what was happening he kissed her back with a longing passion that had been welling inside his chest since that day at Quidditch. He wrapped his arms around the smallest part of her waist and pulled her closer to him, continuing the kiss for as long as he could. She threw her arms around his neck, finally closing the gap between them and moved her hands from his neck down to his shoulders and finally planting them on his sculpted chest._

_The sound of someone clearing their throat cut them short and she pulled herself off of him. Her eyes darted around nervously before she found the voice she had been looking for. Relief washed through her when she saw it was just Luna holding up a pair of shoes._

"_I found what I was looking for. I borrowed your shoes once and didn't remember where I had placed them last. Sorry about that." Luna smiled at her and placed the shoes in her hand._

"_As you were." She called over her shoulder as she skipped through the snow._

_They both stood there motionless for what seemed hours. Silver stared down at her shoes and Malfoy stared down at her. But she wouldn't meet his gaze. He wanted to kiss her again. And again. And again. Even though the way he felt his defenses melt while he kissed her was hard to get used to, but he was willing to adjust and quickly._

"_I – I don't know what –" she struggled for words. "Sorry." She took the shoes in her hand and turned around. But he didn't stop her._

She laughed softly, recollecting the awkwardness of the moment. It had been such a challenge between her and Draco, and just when they were nearly there…she felt hopeless again. She would never see him again, she would live in this cave until something came to cease her pain and kill her.

"_You surprised me tonight," she inched nearer to him and placed her elbows on the rails._

"_Really? And how did I manage to do that?" he also took advantage of sliding nearer to her._

"_You are remarkably, a very good dancer." She said, looking out into the night sky. The moon was very bright tonight._

_He shrugged, "It always helps when you have a lovely partner to lead."_

_This was far too much for her, her heart was about ready to jump out of her chest._

"_You better be talking about me."_

_He smirked, "And who else could I possibly be talking about?"_

_She looked to her right to face him, "I did see you dancing with Pansy, I mean she's just as eligible for the description as I am."_

_He looked to his left to face her, "Rubbish, Pansy's a nutter. Nothing to worry about, you are definitely awarded with that title."_

_They stayed that way for a moment, just basking in the comfort of the moment. His grey eyes weren't as cold and foreboding like they usually were, they had dramatically softened while Silver's green eyes exuberated the warmth he lacked in his own. A perfect balance._

_And then, for that moment he felt the world around him pause and he kissed her._

She began to cry again, short exasperated breaths escaping her parted lips. She wouldn't ever see him again. All of their silly quarrels were meaningless now, all that time fighting was time wasted. And of course, before she was taken here, she and Draco had ended once again on a sour note. The aching feeling of regret consumed her – she could've done things differently, peacefully even.

"Up."

She stiffened, suddenly forgetting why she was weeping to begin with.

"Who's there?" her lips trembled.

"Up."

The voice wasn't human. It almost sounded like a growl. She searched the floor beneath her for a large piece of rock she could use for defense. "Who's there?" she repeated again, this time a bit more demanding. She grabbed a hold of the largest thing she could find.

"Up." The animal growled again, this time sounding more impatient than the last time.

Silver digested what it kept repeating for a moment. It wanted her to go up, but up where? And how would she know if this was to be trusted? She hadn't the slightest idea of who or what was behind that set of instructions.

"What do you mean 'up'?," she said slowly, worried she would make it mad.

"Up." It said again, not answering her question.

She pushed herself off the ground, her weapon still in hand and looked up.

"You mean I need to climb up, don't you?"

The figure walked closer, but still kept its distance. She squinted to try to tell the creature apart from the darkness, but it seemed to be just as dark as it'surrondings, but it certainly wasn't human that much was certain.

Suddenly, the creature let out a loud blistering howl, the earth around her shook as it had once done before when she had yelled, but this time dregs that seemed to be from the roof of the cave crashed down onto the floor, breaking into pieces. Silver stepped backwards, avoiding the shards as they flew out erratically. And then, it almost seemed alien – like she had never witnessed the sight before, a small trace of light formed a barrier between her and the creature.

Silver looked up at where the light had come from. There was an opening; there was a way out of this miserable place she was trapped in. She looked back towards the creature that had granted her freedom once again, but it was no longer there. Where had it gone?

As selfish as it was, she didn't care. Her mind was focused on how she would be able to climb back up to civilization. And so she did what she thought she should, she planted one foot securely on a gap between two rocks and her hand on a gap that was a bit too high for her reach at first, but jumped to get a firm hold of it. Her grip on the jagged edge of the rock in front of her felt slippery, for a few instances she felt as if she would lose her grip completely and fall – but still she continued to climb.

"Ouch." She whimpered as the palm of her hand landed on a razor-sharp edge, causing it to leave an tender sting. She wasn't sure if it was bleeding or not, and in truth she couldn't examine it to find out – that would mean letting go. She heard a faint barking sound and looked around to find it. Above her, by the opening the animal had formed was none other than the animal itself. In the light, she thought it looked like a dog – a really big dog, almost wolf like.

She inhaled deeply and grabbed a hold of the next rock. Her hands were growing more and more frail with every climb, but she knew there was no better way than to just get it over with. She would endure the pain for as long as she needed to if it meant she was free.

Finally, she was only a few inches away – one more push would do it, but she hesitated. The wolf dog scared her. it had helped her, yes, but still she didn't know it's intentions. What was the reason for this helpful deed? Her arms ached and her hands were sore, she couldn't hold on for much longer. She breathed again and let her arm stretch out upwards, next to the wolf/dog. It took every ounce of energy within her to hoist herself up, but she lost her footing, her balance quickly failing her. she let out a yell of terror, panick stricken to see that she was now only just barely holding on with one arm. she struggled to get her other arm up as well, but she couldn't. she was too tired, too exhausted to put it anymore effort. Her fingers were weakening and the pain from the friction between the rugged walls against her flesh was clouding her spirits.

For a moment she felt like letting go. But before that moment was over, her hand gave out on her and she lost contact with the wall. She was falling.

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Thank you so much for all your reviews (:  
I'm sorry I've been taking so long with udpating,  
I've been really busy :\

I am definitely planning on giving out previews though, because I'm sure a lot of you aren't very happy with that cliffhanger there! lol  
So please keep your reviews coming! (:


	38. Found

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**Found**

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_Finally, she was only a few inches away – one more push would do it, but she hesitated. The wolf dog scared her. it had helped her, yes, but still she didn't know it's intentions. What was the reason for this helpful deed? Her arms ached and her hands were sore, she couldn't hold on for much longer. She breathed again and let her arm stretch out upwards, next to the wolf/dog. It took every ounce of energy within her to hoist herself up, but she lost her footing, her balance quickly failing her. she let out a yell of terror, panick stricken to see that she was now only just barely holding on with one arm. she struggled to get her other arm up as well, but she couldn't. she was too tired, too exhausted to put it anymore effort. Her fingers were weakening and the pain from the friction between the rugged walls against her flesh was clouding her spirits._

_For a moment she felt like letting go. But before that moment was over her hand gave out on her and lost contact with the wall. _

Suddenly, a hand reached out just in time to grab her wrist suspending her body in mid-air. She gasped at the sudden pain of the potent weight on her shoulder, but more so because she was still in one piece and floating.

"It's alright I've got you." Said a deep, affectionate voice.

She looked through her squinted eyelids, the last thing she remembered was seeing a dog. Her chest heaved all of a sudden, in a good way. His shaggy head of dark hair partly covered his face, but he was still recognizable.

"Sirius.." She breathed, finding she was too tired to sound any happier.

His lips stretched across his less than perfect teeth in a smile. "Hold on, ill have you up before you know it."

He lifted her up and onto the outside world. Well not exactly outside, they were indoors from what she could tell – in an empty candlelit room. For a moment she let her eyes adjust to her new surroundings, basking in the comfort of having Sirius with her. Sirius watched her, giving her the time she needed to collect herself.

"How'd you find me?" She asked, unveiling the silence.

He smirked, "There are ways Silver, trust me. Voldermort and his foul followers think they're so clever don't they?" he laughed sardonically to himself.

"What do you mean? Why didn't you come and get me before then?" her voice hardened.

He looked at her ruefully, "I've been in these caves before. They seem to forget how long I was in hiding after Azkaban. I was following you, I kept an eye on you to make sure you were safe. But in truth, I'm not quite sure where you would be safer – wandering about out here or back in the caves." He frowned, "But once you landed upon the same spot I too once managed to find, I decided to lead you out."

She understood and nodded. "Thank you so much." She whispered and embraced him quickly.

-

**Ministry of Magic.** Draco Malfoy read the words to himself, as if it was a sort of reassurance that he had actually made it without anyone knowing about it. Some twisting feeling in his stomach told him the Department of Mysteries should be his first destination. It just seemed appropriate, Silver's location at the moment was a mystery that he needed to solve before it was too late. He waited for the lift to appear, deeming his presence as inconspicuous as it could be. His platinum blonde hair was hidden beneath a hat he had taken from his father's closet, it didn't completely disguise his hair but it was the best he could do at short notice.

The lift arrived and he entered. There was a man in front of him entering as well, and for a moment he seemed familiar until upon looking at him again he realized he did know the man. His shaggy red brown hair was disheveled and untidy, his suit was less than primp and presentable, and his suitcase read the letters RL on the golden plate. It was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from his fourth year at Hogwarts, Professor Lupin. Draco felt his heart race quicker, suddenly nervous the man would recognize him; so nervous, he suddenly didn't have the time to mentally insult Lupin for his cheap clothing and unkempt appearance.

It was too dangerous to be recognized. If word spread of Draco being at the Ministry, his father would see to it that he was removed immediately knowing what his intentions were. Draco stood furthest away from his past professor, far behind him and laid his eyes on him once again. Lupin didn't seem to have even noticed there was someone else in the elevator and all because if he had, he didn't seem to have much care for it. His fists were clenched tightly to his sides and his breathing seemed uneven. He was obviously very anxious about something, but of course Draco wouldn't dare ask why.

After several horizontal, vertical, and sometimes dizzying twists the lift had reached its destination: the Department of Mysteries. Draco was readying himself to walk quickly past the professor, quick enough that he would fail to recognize him. But there was no need for when the doors open, Lupin stepped out before Draco before he even had the chance to sprint away. They were both getting off at the same floor? _How peculiar_, Draco thought. He lost sight of him after a few seconds, the man was walking at an inhumanly quickened pace, but then again neither of them would exactly fit the description of a normal human. Draco laughed a little at his own cleverness.

He had been here before, but not recently. The corridors were vast, branching out into other small corridors that all led to different offices. He crossed his arms, bringing them close to his chest – it was suddenly freezing. It was as if the season had changed to the cold temperature of the winter in this building. His pale grey eyes looked from one corridor to another, unsure of which would be the right one to begin with. He landed on a darkened one far away from the rest of them. Assuming there wouldn't be anyone in the darker one, he decided to go there.

-

"Run!" Sirius Black yelled out from behind Silver desperately, "Don't let them catch you Silver!"

Silver could hear the pounding of her heart beating in her ears more than she could hear his voice calling out to her. She turned around, still running, watching his figure grow smaller and farther in the distance. The long strands of her whipped across her face as she turned her head to look forward again. She was breathing quickly, trying to maintain a steady breath so she wouldn't tire herself from how fast she was running. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't stop. Not now. Lucius would catch her, just like he took Sirius after he sacrificed himself for her. She could already feel the tears pounding at her eyes. It seemed as if crying was all she could do lately and it annoyed her terribly. She had to stay strong and find Harry.

She continued to spring down the vast corridor, it wasn't completely darkened just a bit dim, enough to see ahead of her. And ahead of her she saw a figure, a dark figure running just as fast as she was. Her heart stopped for a minute.

"No, no, no, no.." She whispered to herself repeatedly, fearing the worst. Where would she turn to? She couldn't turn back, Lucius was probably still waiting. She had to fight, that was the solution. She would simply have to fight her way through. She just wished she had her wand. How helpless she felt without it. In a just a moment's time she could use any spell to protect herself with, but without it all she could do was hope to run away before whomever that was got a hold of her. Then suddenly, the figure ahead of her stopped abruptly. She did the same, almost losing her balance in the process.

Now she could see the man better. Could it be? It couldn't. But his white blonde hair was unmistakable.

"Draco.." She whispered disbelievingly.

-

It was her. Draco almost thought it was a hallucination seeing her again, as if it were too heavenly to be real. But it was her. And there she was, standing a mere few feet away. She didn't move from where she stood but he wasn't about to wait. His legs started moving beneath him, walking as fast as could to her. He never broke his gaze away from her and upon inching nearer he noticed how frail she looked. Her subtle tan glow had paled making her appear even paler than he was himself. He moved closer and noticed she was only wearing the uniform blouse and pleated skirt, exposing the weight she had lost from not eating for the three days she was gone. She had always been skinny, and although it wasn't more than a subtle difference, it definitely showed.

She started walking towards him as well, finally realizing it was him. He jogged over to her, scared that if she used up any more of her energy she would faint from exhaustion.

"Draco.." She said wearily as she reached out, touching his arm.

He pulled her into his body, squeezing her hard into his chest and resting his chin on the top of her head. From beneath him he heard her strangled sobs as she squeezed his waist tightly. Her muffled sobs grew louder and heavier.

Draco laid his hand on the back of her head and stroked her hair, "It's alright, I promise. I'll never let you out of my sight again." He struggled to sound strong, but his voice came out more pathetic than he would've liked. The feeling of her body breathing so tightly pressed against his made him go hot in the face, even though it was hardly the time for hormones - but he couldn't help it. He noticed her breathing steady into a more normal pattern, and then she tilted her head up to look at him. He smiled at her, a genuine broad smile that he didn't even think was possible for him to express. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Silver smiled too, dimples marking the corners of her paled lips, but her face still looked tired. Her green eyes weren't as bright as they used to be, her hair was knotted, and her cheeks were moistened with tears. Instinctively, he took the hand he had behind her head and reached for her cheek – his hand softly rubbing off the tears. She smiled again - but this time it reached her eyes, returning the light inhibited within her green orbs. "You came looking for me." She said, her voice low and husky as if she hadn't used it in a while.

His grey eyes searched hers, wondering why she would even doubt that he would've done differently. "Of course I did, you didn't think I'd forget about you…did you?" his voice trailed off questioningly.

She averted her eyes. He knew what she meant.

"Why would you ever think..? As soon as I heard they'd taken you, I started plotting and planning ways to flee Hogwarts to come find you." He said softly, placing a hand on her cheek and gently moving her head back to face him.

"You said you never wanted to, "Her voice cracked mid-sentence, "speak to me again."

A pang of guilt turned her stomach upside down, he had said that to her. And she didn't deserve it. She couldn't help it after all, it wasn't her fault she's found out she's related to that bloody git.

"I think I've learned my lesson then," He smiled sheepishly, "I suppose I've realized how bloody dense I was, because – well because I couldn't help thinking how much I would've despised myself if something..if anything at all..happened to you…"

Her expression hardened, as if she were thinking hard about something.

"You'll forgive me wont you? I' not sure how well I'll cope without speaking to you after today."

She slid her hands up his chest and shoulders, placing them on either sides of his face. "You shouldn't even have to ask. Of course I forgive you Draco."

He lowered his head to reach her eye level, moving in closer to her when a loud cry echoed from a distance.

"Harry." She said, grabbing a hold of Draco's hand and dragging him behind her as she ran with a reserved adrenaline.

"He said they'd be in the room that holds the prophecies. Do you know where that is Draco?" she asked, still running.

Draco hesitated, he didn't want to put her in harm's way again. "Yes." He said simply.

"Right. Where is it then?" She said, panting.

"I can't tell you." He abruptly stopped, causing her to do so as well.

"What? Why not?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I cant – I wont let you get hurt again." he said, a wistful look in his eyes.

She bit her lip as her pulse began to race and her cheeks redden. "I wont get hurt, I promise. Please, just tell me where it is."

"And how exactly can you promise that? Because I'm nearly certain the deatheaters won't be aware of that promise when they come after you." He snapped.

Usually, she would've grown upset and possibly frustrated with his stubbornness but today she didn't. Today she noted that they had taken a large step, Draco was no longer masquerading his feelings from her. He cared for her and he wasn't modest about it, at least for now he wasn't. She felt tears stinging her eyes again, but this time from happiness. With her free hand, she traced his strong jaw line.

"Stop it…you're making me cry…and I think I've cried enough to last a lifetime these past few days." She laughed dryly.

He smiled at her sadly, "And how is it that I'm making you cry?"

"Because…well…you're just acting so…sweetly."

"So does that mean you'll leave it be and come home?" his voice was hopeful, but inside he knew she wouldn't leave her brother behind.

"Just.._please_ take me to him." She begged.

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See, I told you I would update quickly (:  
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.  
I know its kinda jumpy in that it sort of jumps from Draco's point of view and back to Silvers so i tried to separate it better with dashes.

I will have a preview for all who review & I want to thank you for all of your lovely reviews!  
They mean so much to me.


	39. Fragile

**Fragile**

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"I'll stand watch out here. Just, be safe." Draco confessed uneasily.

Silver stopped herself just before her hand touched the door handle that would take her to Harry. She turned around and threw her hands around his neck. "I'll be right back." She whispered into his ears and then disappeared into the doors. His stomach turned in fear, fear that she wouldn't come back.

Long rows of shelves, all parallel to each other, paneled the room. Millions of small spherical crystal balls were meticulously organized and placed on the shelves. They were prophecies. So she was in the right place, but where was Harry?

Answering her question a beam of light struck a few feet away from her. In spite of herself, she ran towards it.

She noticed a figure lay huddled on the ground as she inched closer to where the battle of wands was occurring. She recognized that red head of hair anywhere. Ron Weasley was clutching his side in agony, moans escaping his tightened lips. She threw herself on the ground next to him.

"What's happened to you Ron?" She cradled his head.

His eyes opened for a second, "No, get out of here!"

"Ron.." Her eyes searched his face, "Who did this to you?"

He looked around, his blue eyes were wide in fear, "Deatheaters."

Her heart sank. Look at what they had done to Ron, in what horrible shapes would she find the others?

"I'll be right back." She gently lowered his head back down to the ground and jumped off into a sprint, unarmed and without her wand.

"Stupify!" She heard Hermione's voice from a few rows down. She was getting closer.

"Gah!" A hooded figure flew past her, nearly knocking her over. She made a sudden turn, trying to lose it until she felt the earth vibrate beneath her. She felt the crackle of breaking glass crashing on the ground and then the sound of shelves unhinging and collapsing. She looked behind her and saw that everything around her was crumbling to pieces. Her legs ran faster than she ever thought possible, she was panting endlessly, feeling short of breath and weak from her lack of nutrition the days before.

She let out a helpless squeal when she crashed into something solid. She had a mouthful of Hermione's bushy brown hair when she screamed. Hermione opened her eyes wide. "Oh my god Silver!" she threw her hands around Silver's neck and hugged her tightly. The rest of the group turned as soon as they heard Hermione but continued running. They were dangerously close to being crushed.

"Go through the door!" Harry called out to Ginny who was running a few steps in front of him. She did as she was told, then Harry, then Ron, Luna, Neville, Hermione, and finally Silver. One minute she was on solid ground, but as soon as she went thru the door, she was falling. She was about to scream for help when just nearly centimeters before she hit the ground, she suddenly stopped, along with the others, and landed gently on the hard floor.

Harry looked around the barren room, he hadn't the slightest idea of where they might be and the idea made his stomach turn.

"Harry, this doesn't feel right. I think we should go." Hermione warned as she slowly approached him with the group following hesitantly behind.

Harry heard her pleads, but didn't know where to take them. He got his friends into this mess, and now he had to get them out of it. He turned and looked at Silver who was struggling to stand with Ron's aid. He was about to address her when he heard something, and a pang of instinct told him something was coming.

"Get behind me _now._" He ordered at the group with his wand defensively put out in front of him. They all scurried behind him, with their wants held out as well, waiting for their next order when they were entirely engulfed in a tornado of black floating bodies. Everything went dark for a moment, and it happened so quickly that it was too late before anyone realized they were each being held captive by a death eater. He looked around at his friends to see them all down on their knees, each with a wand jostled threateningly at their heads.

"All I want is the prophecy in your hand." Lucius sneered, seeming to appear from thin air.

Harry stared at him, his body overcome with a slur of emotions. He couldn't even seem to think straight because for a moment he wanted to pass it to him. Lucius kept his eyes fixed on the boy before him, growing increasingly impatient with his lack of cooperation.

"Hm, I would think your friends mattered more to you than some silly prophecy." Lucius said.

Harry looked around at his friends, reading the panicked looks on each of their faces which seemed to mirror the terror he was trying to hide. His green eyes landed on Ginny, she seemed more concerned about his safety rather than her own – although she was the one being threatened her life.

"Don't give it to him Harry!" Neville bravely yelled but Bellatrix quickly hushed him.

Harry's chest weighed close to five tons. His friends were his family, he couldn't trade them for a prophecy. He_ needed_ them. He stuck out his arm and examined the crystal ball enclosed in his hand. The small object that could possibly be the death of his friends. Looking up once again, he noticed someone was missing. Where had they taken Silver? He sighed heavily and turned back to the blonde.

"Where's my sister?" Harry demanded more than asked.

Lucius smiled, quite pleased with himself and said, "I was hoping you'd notice." He looked off behind him and nodded, his contemptuous smile never leaving his face.

A figure emerged from the direction where Lucius had nodded, Harry adjusted his spectacles to have a closer look.

"Look at what I've found here Potter, someone's come to visit!" Barty Crouch Jr. entered from behind Lucius, his arms wrapped around Silver's neck and arms. She struggled to free herself, but it was no use. He was too strong for her already weakened state. Silver looked at Harry with sad, tired eyes and Harry felt the load on his chest weigh even heavier. Barty noticed the exchange.

"See that? You've already forgotten all about me haven't you? Haven't you?" he said forcefully. "You forgot all about good ol' Barty, the man who _fed_ you,_ housed_ you, and _supported_ you for _fifteen_years."

She fought again, trying to get her elbow close enough to hit him anywhere she could.

"Spoiled brat." He spat at her, tightening his grip on her neck. She let out a small cry, although she tried not to. She wanted to free herself and rush to Harry's side to help him fight, but it was hopeless. Just keeping her lungs functional was a struggle.

She felt a rush of sobs go through her. Her entire life had been a terrible lie. Barty never cared for her, and if he were ordered to kill her at his very moment he wouldn't think twice about it. She took a shaky breath and took control of her emotions before facing Harry again.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, secretly hoping this was all just a dream. Maybe if he squeezed hard enough, he'd wake up. But when he opened his eyes again, Silver was still there headlocked by the man she once called her father. He couldn't bear to see his friends and his sister in pain any longer. "Here, this is what you want isn't it? Now let my friends go." Harry demanded as he handed Lucius the sphere.

Lucius sneered and narrowed his eyes, taking it from the young boy's hands. He looked at it with hungry eyes, gingerly stroking the crystal sphere with his gloved hands gently, as if it were a newborn baby. Until he heard a set of footsteps from behind him.

"Step away from my godson." The firm voice of Sirius Black came from behind Lucius and before he could fully face him, Lucius was knocked straight to the ground.

Then, a strobe of lights erupted from around them frightening the deatheaters. One by one Luna, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron were released and lead to safety by a member of the Order of the Phoenix. A small scaled war erupted between the order and the death eaters, spells were cast and charms were conjured to disarm the enemy. It was quite a sight to behold if it weren't for that it could possibly be the most dangerous thing the students had ever encountered.

Silver looked around her in horror, no one had come to free her. She began thrashing around in Barty's arms, fighting in whichever way she could only to have his grip on her tighten. Realizing her arms were too tightly detained to use, she found the strength in her legs enough to kick behind her, near his groins. He winced in pain and let out a cry of pain, distracted enough to loosen his grip on her. She pushed his arms off from around her neck and sprinted off towards Harry and Sirius.

"Wait!" Ginny yelled as Nymphadora Tonks, a member of the Order, began to lead her away to safety with the others, "Silver's still back there."

Tonks made a face, "We've got to go Ginny, I'm sure someone's got her!" She yelled as she lanced her wand at one of the hooded figures behind her.

Ginny bit her lip. "What's going to happen to Harry?"

The woman only looked at her, a cold foreign look in her eyes. "C'mon now darling, let's get you out of here please."

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**A/N: I know I took ages to upload this chapter! I'm really sorry it took me so long :\  
I loved all your reviews!I'm sorry I couldn't answer you all individually as I usually do, but it's been really busy for me lately.  
I mean between work and the ending of the school semester, I'm overwhelmed with things.**

**But on a lighter note, I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!  
What did you all dress up as?**

**And please keep your reviews coming :D**


	40. Will you remember me?

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**Will you remember me?**

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Silver had finally caught up to them. Harry had somehow managed to disarm Lucius of his wand while Sirius was in occupied in a war of wit of his own. "Scared of a mere boy Lucius?" He laughed as if he hadn't a care in the world.

A cloaked figure flying past her at a dangerously quickened speed knocked her down to the floor. Her legs gave way beneath her and she felt weaker than ever. She was too tired. Her heart was pounding in her chest as more figures flew above her, battling for dominance. Her vision began to blur and she began blinking quickly to refocus her vision. She felt lightheaded and heavy at the same time, as if her arms could no longer support the weight of holding her up. A pair of strong arms picked her up gracefully. She smiled to herself because for a quick moment she believed to be floating in mid-air.

"Silver."

The sound of her name rattled through her ears and into her head, waking her up from the trance she seemed to be engrossed in. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again slowly.

"What happened to you? You look terrible.." Harry's voice dripped with concern as he passed her on to another set of arms. He placed his cold hands on her feverish forehead and moved her bangs, which were drenched in sweat, away from her face. She looked from Harry to whom she had been carried on to. Remus stared down at her paled face and frail frame.

"Go with them Harry. Go on now, get to safety." Sirius appeared beside him, also looking down at her.

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm not leaving you here…alone."

'It isn't safe for you to stay." Sirius stated.

"I don't care." Harry retorted.

A stream of light shot right beside them, barely missing Sirius. He turned around and shot one back at Lucius. Harry quickly joined in before anyone else had a chance to object.

Silver's hand reached out to grab him but she wasn't quick enough. Her arm sagged down and fell limply at her sides. Remus gently kneeled and placed her down against a rock formation. Her green eyes fluttered as she looked at him helplessly. "He's going to get hurt." She said, her voice still sounding husky and unused.

And at that very moment, the room stood still and every soul in the room stopped.

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix Lestrange lanced her wand towards Harry and Sirius. She bellowed out a loud, evil laugh. Pleased with what she had just done.

Shivers travelled through Silver's veins. Her heart suddenly stopped beating and trying as hard as she could, she ignored the tenderness of her limbs. She squinted, desperately trying to find her vision again. She was horrified to find out who the curse had hit, because it would be devastating either way.

Sirius stood still, a blank, misty look clouding his eyes as Harry stood before him in disbelief. He had been hit square on the chest with the killing curse. His body became as light as air and floated up and into the veiled archway. Harry stared after him, waiting for him to reappear – laughing, as he always was. But he never did. Harry let out a painful cry, so full of agony that everyone around him felt a glimpse of his overwhelming sorrow. His body was trembling violently as tears came rushing out of his eyes. A single tear fell from Silver's eye.

Remus rushed over to Harry, holding his shaking body in place to calm the boy. But how would he relieve his anguish if he was dealing with his own? Remus let the tears flood out of his eyes and roll onto his cheeks. He couldn't come to terms with this. No sooner had he recovered his dear friend from the hells of Azkaban to lose him once again. But this time, he would never come back. In that quick moment of hesitation, Harry broke free from his hold and rushed out of the room after Bellatrix.

Remus stared after him, unsure of what to do. He fell to his knees in the same spot where his dearest friend had just been murdered and buried his head into his hands. He cried strangled sobs, unable to control the gaping hole in his chest. Silver shook her head, as if relieving herself of her own burdens for they didn't seem as important as they used to. Her body ached terribly, but at least she was still _alive._

She pushed herself off the ground and scampered over to her godfather, keeping her body close to the ground because she needed her arms to walk as well - her legs weren't strong enough to carry her.

"Remus, Harry needs us." She said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her with blood stricken eyes. Standing before him was a girl that barely had enough strength to speak, nonetheless walk, and she still persevered.

"I'm so…so proud of you." He said with a shadow of his old smile.

She drew in a shaky breath and straightened her body, but it was a lot easier than she thought it would be to do so. She looked down at the pair of hands she hadn't noticed before, propping her up by her elbows. Ron and Luna stood on both sides of her, steadying her enough to stand. She smiled at them gratefully, emotions building in her chest. Then she outstretched her hand towards Remus as a gesture to help him stand. He took her hand and headed out the same way Harry had just left.

With her friends help, she was able to run faster than she would've alone but it was still a struggle. She had barely jogged a few steps before she started panting heavily. Until finally, the group came to an abrupt stop. She was somewhat thankful for this, but the sight before her froze her as if she were a block of solid ice. Dumbledore and an oddly looking man were illuminating the darkened corridors with red, white, and green sparks from their wands. Harry was on the ground, wincing in agony.

The hooded man suddenly jerked his head directly towards her. She gasped at the sight of him. He didn't even seem human. She first noticed that he had no sign of a nose, just two nostrils resting above his thin lips. He was bald, and had no facial hair – not even on his brows. He frightened her and almost immediately she knew who this man was. This man inflicted evil into the world. He is the one responsible for the deaths of so many innocent wizards, but to her all that mattered was that he plainly was the man who unforgivably took her parents away from her.

He curled his lips into a wicked smirk. They had both seemed to realize whom the other was in the same instant. She stepped backwards, scared of what he was capable of. She wasn't as brave as her brother was. She couldn't single handedly face the dark lord without so much as a flinch. Her worried eyes drifted over to Harry, whom was still shaking violently on the floor.

"You want to save your brother?" He hissed, his daunting eyes fixed on hers, "Go on, go ahead and see if he's alright."

Ron wrapped his fingers around Silver's wrist, restraining her.

Voldermort hissed and lanced his wand at the helpless group of students, "Let her go."

Ron loosened his grip on her a tad, but then held on tighter. Just then a beam of light sliced the ghoulish man on the arm, distracting his object of attention back towards Dumbledore and Harry. But before she could truly feel relieved, the dark lord turned to her once again, his expression livid, and hit her with a stream of red light – throwing her backwards and into the wall behind her. Silver felt her grip on consciousness slowly slipping, and then everything went black.

It had been too long and Silver still hadn't come out. Draco was growing enormously worried. It wouldn't hurt to just look inside would it? the corridors seemed empty enough to just have a quick peek. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, what was he going to find once he opened these doors? He placed his hand over the golden finish of the handle and turned it open. He gaped at the debris of fallen shelves and broken crystal spheres all sprawled out on the floor. His breath caught in his throat. He couldn't even find the words to speak. He'd done it again. He let Silver out of his sight, and this time he might not be so fortunate as to find her safe and well. His body went numb and he felt cold, although he was rather warm just a few seconds ago.

He turned on his heel and sprinted down the corridor towards the only other room he knew could be reached from the one that had just been avalanched. The sting of tears threatened his fretful grey eyes as he ran.

But he was wrong, the room he found himself in was completely vacant and seemed to have been vacant for quite some time. There was no sign of a soul crossing through there recently. Draco choked back a sob, "Silver.." he let himself whisper.

"You're a bit off, but that was quite a good assumption." He heard a familiar voice snap behind him. Draco jerked his head quickly to come eye to eye with his father.

"I must say Draco, I am rather disappointed in you. Here _i_ am, giddy with excitement that you have come to the department of mysteries solely to help you father, but instead – you came in search of Potter's sister of all people." He hissed yet still kept his cool demeanor.

Draco said nothing but never lost contact with his father's icy stare.

"Why is that Draco? Please explain to me so that I can fully comprehend why it is that you have travelled all this way, not to mention placed your _own_ life at risk, to save her?"

Still Lucius received silence from his son, and he wasn't getting on well with his disobedience.

"You answer me when I speak to you boy!" Lucius now stood closer to Draco, "Why are you_ here?_"

"I was concerned father!" Draco snapped back at the man, causing Lucius to step back an inch. "I was concerned for her well being and I wasn't going to sit patiently and wait to hear from Dumbledore that she was found dead two weeks later!" Draco snapped his mouth shut, he had said far too much and the look on his father's face reassured him that he had.

"You were _concerned_ for this girl?" he laughed derisively, but then his face changed entirely to one of pure disdain. "Am I supposed to believe that you _fancy_ this girl Draco? That you have some sort of emotional connection to Potter?" he was truly disgusted and made no effort to hide it.

Draco swallowed hard, hearing his father speak those words made him realize how truly impossible it was to act upon the feelings he had for Silver. "No, I didn't –" He began to say but was interrupted.

"You are never to speak to her again, am I clear Draco?"

Draco narrowed his eyes in pure hatred for the man that stood before him.

"I said, am I clear?"

"Yes, father."

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**A/N: So here it is! I know the part of Sirius dieing was pretty unsurprising considering that it happened in the books, but i didn't want to change them too much in that aspect.  
And I know you guys were waiting for Draco to come to the rescue again huh? Nope, fooled you! lol**

**Just a quick update: I've already finished writing the story, which made me kinda sad :\  
There are three chapters left, apart from this one.  
I'm working on two new stories, which I think I want to do a poll on to see which once you guys are more interested in reading next or whether you want a sequel to this story.  
If you guys want a sequel, prove it! (:****  
How?  
Review, review, review :D**

**Plus you get a preview if you do!  
**


	41. Remus Lupin and a Change of Plans

**Remus Lupin and a Change of Plans**

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A light shined through her closed eyelids, disturbing her slumber. Silver inhaled deeply, smelling the scent of healing potions and cabbage. She opened her eyes slowly, to get a better idea of where she was and upon further inspection realized she was at the hospital wing at Hogwarts. It was night time, the light she had felt was from a lit candle on the nightstand beside her.

There was no one around her bed and the infirmary was fairly empty except for two others who were also sick in bed. She looked at the bed beside her and was hit with relief, it was Harry and he was alright.

"Harry!" She whispered, "Harry!"

She pushed the white sheets off of her legs and stood up. The sudden movement caused her to feel dizzy and wobble a bit. But after a few seconds the sensation was gone and she felt normal once again. She silently stepped closer to Harry's bed and laid her hand on his shoulder gently. He didn't look too good, his arms and forehead were bandaged. But then Silver looked down at her very own legs to see that her right leg was bandaged as well. Oddly, she felt all right. Her legs were supporting her just fine. Whatever Madam Pomfrey had given them must have already taken effect.

"Harry." She said once more.

His body turned over, his eyes still shut, "Sirius.." he muttered.

Silver heart dropped to her stomach. She'd almost forgotten – Sirius was dead. She threw her hands up to her mouth and tried her hardest to fight back threatening tears.

"Thank Merlin you're all right." Harry said suddenly.

Silver widened her eyes in surprise and scolded herself for not being more careful in front of him. She removed her hands from her face and placed them in his. "I'm fine, b-but how are you?" she said, all the while trying to regain her composure.

Harry shook her off, "Voldermort hit you with the stunning spell Silver, Madame Pomfrey told us that chances were you could wake up with severe memory loss…if you ever woke at all." he frowned.

Silver processed the information, and tried to think back to as far as she could. "I think I'm alright, really."

Harry smiled. "Well as long as you remember me, we should be alright."

Silver forced a smile and held onto his hand tighter. She wondered if he was the one with amnesia. Did he remember what happened to Sirius?

"We're better than alright Harry, we both came out of this just fine…and..." She looked at him, "well - I'll always be here for you Harry."

Harry nodded, "And so will I....and so will Remus and Sirius."

Silver shuddered at the mention of the last name. She was once again on the verge of tears, "Harry, don't you remember what happened?"

Harry shook his head, "Yes, I remember everything just fine." then suddenly his mouth went dry, "But I just woke from a terrible nightmare Silver."

"What was it about?"

He hesitated, "I dreamt that…Sirius, well that Sirius was..._killed_…and that Dumbledore came to talk to me about it..and…" he trailed off, realizing how much it sounded like more of a reality than a dream.

Silver put her free hand on his arm, "Harry….that wasn't a nightmare.." She choked.

Harry turned his head away from her as tears began to flow freely from his eyes. His chest began to rise and fall unevenly signaling to Silver that he was crying. She couldn't help the tears herself. She wiped them off her cheeks with the sleeves of her blouse before she wrapped her arms around Harry.

He clung to her shirt, crying into her shoulder. Silver rubbed a soothing hand on his back to calm him.

"He's d-dead, Sil- Silver. Sirius is d-dead." He struggled to say between gasps for air.

"He's watching over you Harry, just because he's dead - it doesn't mean he's gone." she struggled to say.

Harry choked, "E-everything! He t-takes everything away!"

She knew what he meant. The Dark Lord will not rest until he has taken everything that makes Harry happy.

She pulled away from her embrace and took a hold of his arms. "I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere." She made him look up at her, "I promise."

Her heart sunk as she watched the sadness on his face, he couldn't take any more emotional turmoil. He needed a family, a real family. Not the Dursley's.

"This summer, I'll visit as often as I can. I'll try to arrange something, I _promise_."

That morning, Harry and Silver were visited by their friends. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stood worriedly at Harry's side being as they found no way to cheer him up from his melancholy. Ginny whispered something into her brother's ear and he nodded in response while Hermione sat next to him, her warm brown eyes examining Harry with worry.

The Ravenclaws had arranged for a trolley of sweets to be taken to Silver by her closest friends.

"Now you eat it or I will." Dominic smiled.

"We didn't pay three shillings each for you to stuff your face Dom, that's for Silver and Silver alone." Blake scolded.

Luna giggled from her seat beside Silver and looked down at her. "We've been quite afraid for you Silver."

"You dodged quite a blow." Savannah agreed.

"Don't worry, whatever Madame Pomfrey's given me has me good as new." Silver reassured her friends.

After a few more minutes of her friends ranting on about how scared they had been when she went missing and how relieved they were now, Madame Pomfrey ordered them all away, claiming that it was time for class and that Harry and Silver needed rest.

"Blake!" Silver called out, as Blake was the one closest to her as the others all began to exit.

Blake's auburn red hair whirled around with her, "Yes?" she walked towards Silver again.

"Where's Malfoy?" Silver found it strange that he hadn't come to see her yet and quite frankly she hadn't the slightest idea of what had happened to him after the last time she saw him.

Blake's shoulder stiffened and began hesitantly, "he hasn't been at school since the night Umbridge discovered he had run away."

Silver felt a knot form in her throat but tried to ignore it. "How long has it been since then?"

"Well," She said as she moved closer and crossed her arms over her chest, "You've been missing since the Tuesday before last and you were brought here exactly a week since then." Blake sighed, "And you've been out for another week."

Silver furrowed her brows, "He's been gone for two weeks?" She said disbelievingly, a sense of panic was beginning to set in.

"I heard some Slytherins two days ago, they say Lucius has prohibited him from returning to school."

Her stomach turned, "But he's alright isn't he?"

Blake shrugged, "I think so."

"Trench!" Madame Pomfrey's voice echoed through the infirmary.

"I'll visit soon." Blake said and with that she left.

Later that afternoon, Pomfrey strutted over to Silver and handed her a letter, "Hermes dropped it off for you dear."

Silver thanked her and took the parchment from her hands. it was a letter from Remus.

_ Silver,_

_ I'm sorry I can't be there in person. Since I am no longer staff at Hogwarts, I am not permitted into the grounds. I am elated to hear that you are well. I hope you have recovered nicely, you gave me quite a fright._

_There is something rather important I need to discuss with you, and that is where you will be residing this summer. Seeing as the Malfoy's are now under surveillance, since the ministry is keeping a close eyes on all former death eaters, I think it's best you don't return to them for these upcoming months._

Both relief and sadness crossed Silver. Relief because she would no longer have to endure Lucius Malfoy, and sadness because she would no longer see Draco.

_I have been granted permission to fulfill my role as your godfather and be placed as your sole guardian. I hope the news reaches you the same way it did to me, as one of delight. All that worries me now is Harry. Please tell him everything will be alright. Tell him I'll try to speak to him the first chance I can manage._

_Good luck on your final examination. I will see you soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Remus Lupin_

Another family, another house, and another guardian; but hopefully this would finally be her last transition.

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**A/N: There you have it!  
I'm sorry these chapters I've been posting recently have been pretty short compared to the legnth of my usual chapters.**

**I loved your reviews, but what I would love even more is to see a few more reviews for this chapter, pretty please? (:  
Show me you want a sequel!  
C'mon you know you do (;**


	42. End of the Year Feast

**End of the year feast**

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It was the last day of examinations for the fifth years. Since the news of Silver's disappearance had found them during their last and final O.W.L exam, it had been postponed until all fifth years were present to take it. Silver and Harry were back in their houses, welcomed by their friends with even more sweets and candies -something that made Silver very happy, although nothing seemed to brighten Harry's spirits. Silver had shown him the letter Remus wrote to her, but he wasn't as excited to read it as she had been because even with the circumstances, he would still be going back to the Dursleys.

Silver, Luna, Blake, Dominic, Terry, and Anthony had all spent the night studying together in the common room. Anthony seemed to have gotten past his indifference with Silver and began treating her as a friend once more. By three a.m., they had all passed out on the couches and floor, each with a book in their laps.

The group woke just in time to make it to breakfast, and just as it had been for the past three days, the curious glances at Silver's direction never faltered. Students from all houses would stare as she walked down between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables to take a seat at her table.

"Just ignore them." Dominic nudged her in the arm before he took a seat in the nearest vacant spot. She took the seat beside him, shooting a quick glance at the Slytherin table behind her to only face the same disappointment as before.

"He's isn't there again is he?" Dominic said quietly as she sat.

She suddenly became alert, "Who?"

Dominic put down his slice of toast and looked at her with a face.

"No, he's not." She admitted.

"You aren't fooling anyone but yourself you know," he continued buttering his toast, "everyone knows why Malfoy _really_ left that night. His heroic deed hasn't been unnoticed by the curious student body at Hogwarts." He laughed.

Silver laughed dryly. "So everyone knows?"

He nodded, "Just about, although the Slytherins are in denial."

She glanced behind her only to meet Blaise Zabinis hateful glare. "I see."

Dominic laughed, "Believe it or not, some girls are actually drooling over Malfoy more than they already were."

Silver stiffened, feeling a tad jealous. "They can drool all they want….he doesn't belong to anyone."

Dominic raised an inquisitive brow and brought his attention back to his breakfast. Not far from them, Anthony and Terry were getting the table all roused up about the end of the year feast that night.

"Last exam and then a party to celebrate?" Terry smiled, "Sounds like good fun to me."

"Isn't it a bit early to think about tonight Terry?" Blake interrupted, "We still haven't even started our exam yet."

Savannah scolded her boyfriend, "Focus on your exams Terry. It's your last one and you know Arithmancy is your worst subject."

Terry huffed. "Fine."

When it was finally time to enter the examination room, students piled in an orderly fashion. Each took out a quil and began to work on the parchment that was already waiting on their desks.

After two hours, each student, flustered and a bit dazed, turned in their exams and exited the room. Silver handed hers to the professor and mistakenly crashed her paper into someone else's, whom was also handing it in. She felt aggravated for a moment because it was more than clear that she was handing in her exam first, until she looked up.

Draco avoided meeting her eyes and quickly shoved his paper into the Professor's hands, turning and walking away just as fast. She did the same and followed suit, ignoring the whispers that were now causing Umbridge to lose her patience, scandalized with their behavior. He walked out the doors before she did and she hastily quickened her pace to catch up to him, but when she walked through the doors, he was no longer there. Her heart was racing fervently. She turned to walk towards the direction of the dungeons. Common sense told her he would naturally head to his common room straight away.

The halls were now growing darker, gloomier as they always seemed to get as you drew nearer to the dungeons. She stopped for a second at a dead end, she had never been in this part of the castle and wasn't sure if she should turn left or right.

"What do you want?" She heard a voice whisper into her ear. She whirled her body around to see Draco standing closely in front of her. The tone in his voice scared her, and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes.

"W-what?" was all she managed to say, realizing how stupid it sounded.

"Well you followed me here, what do you want?" his tone was poisonous.

She hesitated and a long pause increased the eerie silence, "I was just...concerned is all."

His face softened for just a moment.

"_You answer me when I speak to you boy!" Lucius now stood closer to Draco, "Why are you here?"_

"_I was concerned father!" Draco snapped back at the man, causing Lucius to step back an inch. "I was concerned for her well being and I wasn't going to sit patiently and wait to hear from Dumbledore that she was found dead two weeks later!" _

Draco felt his cold exterior melting, "Well, you shouldn't be." he said harshly.

For a moment she met his cold eyes, but he quickly turned wasn't right, he positively had no reason to be cross with her. Just a week ago he had come to rescue her because he couldn't stand to live without her. There was something _else_. And just as soon as she thought that, one name in particular crossed her mind.

"What did your father do to you Draco?"

"It's_ Malfoy_ to you, _Crouch_. And it's none of your business really."

She stepped away, taken aback by his response.

"Don't you understand? We can't be friends. We knew this from the very beginning." He started off sternly, but his voice grew weaker as he spoke.

"N-no I don't understand because It's n-never stopped you _before_." She was now crying.

He kept his face impassive. "That was a mistake."

Her mouth opened in shock. "So what, kissing me was a _mistake?"_

He wasn't expecting her to bring that up and was immediately overcome with regret. But he couldn't back down now, he had to push her away with whatever it took.

"Y-yes." He stuttered.

She was about to walk away, when she noticed the sudden hesitation in his voice.

"Then why did you come after me Draco? Why did you come and find me when Bellatrix took me?" she demanded fiercely.

Her question once again took him off guard. "I-I.."

"You don't mean anything you just said. You know you don't. if you really didn't care for me, you wouldn't have come looking for me!"

"That's the problem!" He said loudly, feeling frustrated, "I care about you_ too _much! I can't feel this way about you, I can't!!"

Now she was the one taken completely off guard. Had Draco just confessed that he had _feelings_ for her? Her heart leaped in elation. She was too distracted in her own happiness that she almost didn't notice Draco stare at her unreadable face and walk away. She chased after him, "Draco, stop!"

He continued walking, until she finally reached close enough to grab his arm and place herself in his way. "Why are you running away?"

He looked past her, not wanting to meet her pleading gaze. "I already told you Crouch. We can't be friends." He said coldly, far different from his exasperated tone mere seconds ago.

"I know," she said softly, "but…what if…I'm not asking to be your friend." She breathed.

He looked down at her, meeting her eyes for the first time, with a quizzical face.

"You're my closest friend Draco. You've been everything to me since..well since I could remember." Her cheeks flushed.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked in barely a whisper which proved to be a challenge with his strong voice.

"What if I want _more?" _she said bluntly.

Draco's head fell. "How do you think I've been feeling? You don't think I've thought about that too? I would want nothing more than…." He cut himself off.

"Nothing more than what?" she said, frustrated, "Tell me what you're thinking Draco! I can't read your mind." She placed her hands on her temples.

Draco looked at her sadly, "I would want nothing more than to call you my g-girlfriend."

"Then what's stopping you?" she challenged.

He passed a hand through his hair as he stared into her hopeful green eyes. "Everything."

She held back her reappearing tears. "Right then, I understand."

At that moment, he wished the world would swallow him whole. What had he just done?

"Silver..please…"

"I'm not going back to the manor this summer."

"What?..Why?" He asked.

"My godfather is my guardian now, so really, there's no reason for me to ever return there."

His heart dropped to his stomach, and there was a weird sensation in his eyes. He touched a wet patch in his cheek. Was it..tears?

"Tell your mum I'm extremely grateful for her hospitality, and that I'll write to her as soon as I can.."

"Silver.." he whispered.

"That's _Potter_ to you, Malfoy."

She didn't realize how long she had been talking to Malfoy, the end of the year feast was in just an hour – giving her enough time to run to her common room, get dressed, and make her way down to the Great Hall with Luna and Blake.

"I'll meet you all soon. I need to hang up some posters, most of my things have gone missing." Luna smiled dreamily before she skipped off.

Blake and Silver looked at each other, feeling sorry for their friend.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked suddenly.

Silver shrugged, she had managed to push it away from her mind for the time being, until now, "I don't want to talk about it Blake."

Blake held her back at the entrance hall, "I don't mean to pry Silver, but I overheard you two talking."

Silver felt her blood boil, "You were following me?"

Blake shook her head hastily, "No, no! Not at all! I was just on my way to talk to Snape about my Potions exam – when I heard your voices."

"How much did you hear?" Silver asked, defeated.

"Enough."

"He was right, I should've known from the beginning it would be different between us." Silver bit her lip, "Things used to be so simple back then. We were friends, and it wasn't a problem because we were both in pureblood families…Now, I can't even speak to him without there being some complication involved."

"You can work through it." Blake said in an effort to comfort her.

"No we can't." she shook her head, "You heard him, we can't be friends."

Blake paused, "Malfoy's a prat, he is and you can't deny it. He's a spoiled brat that has always thought his daddy would buy him the world if he asked, and he hasn't changed one bit."

Silver stared at her dubiously, wondering how this was going to make her feel better – because she was doing a lousy job so far.

"Everyone's always hated him and it's just second nature to hate him I suppose. So when I first met you this year, and I found out the two of you got on well – I thought you were off your rocker, and I even resented you a bit for it."

"Thanks?"

"Shush, I'm not done."

Silver stiffened and let her continue.

"I wondered how someone as friendly and amiable as you could ever relate to someone like Malfoy. But then I started to notice the way he _looked at you."_

"what do you mean Blake?"

"It was just this _look_, I had never seen so much expression in his face. I was so used to him being so cold and souless, but when I saw the way he would, I don't know, let his guard down when he looked at you – I didn't think of him so badly anymore." Blake laughed, "I know this probably doesn't make any sense. But I guess what did it for me was when I heard how he had escaped through Umbridge's fireplace to go out and find you….that was the moment when I realized that, Draco Malfoy had changed. He was no longer a cold hearted bully, he was just a boy scared of losing his best friend; The only girl that he's truly ever cared about."

Silver was overwhelmed with emotions. Blake was right, she was right about everything. Without knowing how to thank her with words, she threw her arms around her neck and locked her in a warm embrace. Blake hugged her back, smiling.

Blake and Silver resumed their seats, and the announcements began. If there was anything the different houses would ever agree on was the last day of school, and they all cheered enthusiastically in unision. Dumbledore had just announced their long awaited departure back home, tomorrow morning. Around her the Ravenclaws were smiling and laughing, each excited about going home to their parents and the rest of their families after an extra long school year at Hogwarts. All except for Silver and Luna, who was in her usual trance, were happy.

Silver looked ahead of her to where Harry sat. He didn't seem very happy either. To him, this meant another agonizing summer with the Dursleys. But beneath that, it was more. Sirius was forever gone from his life. The man he had grown to see as more of a father than a simple godfather was eternally dispatched away from him for as long as he lived. His face was blank and unreadable, as it had been for days already. He hadn't spoken much to anyone since then. A few grunts here and there, a nod if you were lucky. Silver swallowed a dry lump in her throat and exhaled slowly. She would fill the gap for him, it was her duty as his sister and she was set on fulfilling it. Harry's well being was her main focus.

She averted her eyes down towards the table. That was a lie. As selfish as it sounded, Harry wasn't her only priority. She would get to him, she promised – she had all summer with him. But there was something else that she had just today to do. She turned her head around to look behind her. Draco was already staring at her with his cold, penetrating eyes. She smiled sadly at him but his face didn't change, they continued to stare at each other.

The speaker had changed from Dumbledore to now being McGonagall and she hadn't noticed. Her mind was turning and wheeling incessantly with thoughts on how she would manage to do everything she had to with the small amount of time she had. She broke away the gaze and faced forward again, focusing on the food on her plate.

"Harry..you haven't even touched your dinner." Hermione pointed out gently, nudging the plate in his direction.

Harry was impassive; it was as if she hadn't even spoken directly to him. He kept staring forward, straight past Hermione. Ron, who was sitting next to him, followed his line of sight.

"Silver? Is that who you're staring at?" Ron asked knowing the answer.

"It isn't fair." Harry said quietly. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny leaned in closer to listen.

"Sirius is dead and Silver was on the edge of joining him. Why does Voldermort have to take everything away from me." Harry swallowed a dry lump in his throat, holding back the tears forming in his eyes.

Ginny looked up at him sadly, thinking of what to say but deciding nothing was good enough. She slowly moved her hand across the table and placed it over his, "We're not going anywhere."

Ron was a bit put off by his sister's sudden actions but agreed as well, along with Hermione.

Draco was so engrossed in his own thoughts, he hadn't even begun to notice food magically appearing onto the table and the feast beginning. He couldn't shake off this feeling he had. It was positively vile feeling this way, with emotions of regret and fear. He had never fully realized how weak he really was until now. He had never recognized that being manipulated by the fear he had for his father would consider him weak. He wanted to become someone strong enough to withstand the consequences of disobeying his father, if it was truly worth fighting for. His eyes locked with Silvers, and he allowed himself the freedom to relish the moment.

There was one thing Draco Malfoy had never felt more sure of in his life - he was in love with Silver Potter and he would never let her go.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it!  
Thank you all for your lovely reviews and for your enthusiasm for a sequel! (:  
it makes me really happy to see you are all so excited!**

**Next chapter is the final chapter and I bet you're all wondering how in the world are Draco and Silver ever going to reconcile??  
Yeah well I'm not telling you if they will or wont  
and I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until I update because there wont be any previews for the next chapter.  
Just to maximize the level of suspense (:**

**Please Review!!!!! **


	43. Always

**Always**

* * *

Silver couldn't sleep that night, she was far too distracted with everything Blake had told her that night.

"_That was the moment when I realized that, Draco Malfoy had changed. He was no longer a cold hearted bully, he was a boy – just like the rest of us – scared of losing his best friend; The only girl that he's truly ever cared about."_

She tossed in her covers, throwing the royal blue sheets over her head. Her mind kept churning with the words exchanged between her and Draco. She should've been the bigger person and not let him get to her. But she couldn't. it was just a defense mechanism that was embedded within her. From her times living with Barty, she learned that she couldn't let anyone take demean or take advantage of her.

She sat up in her bed and stared around the elegantly draped walls of her dormitory. She truly had come to love Hogwarts as a second home, or rather her only home – since for a short while she had none. She smiled to herself and brought her knees up to her chest. This summer she would finally have a home, and it would be permanent. Tomorrow she would mend everything with Draco, and all would be all right again; or at least she hoped.

Morning dawned on her last day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry. It was the last time she would wake up to the sun rising directly by the Ravenclaw tower, illuminating the girls dormitories by way of the high arched windows generously spread throughout their room.

Luna was already up from earlier that morning, she was still running around school in search of her missing belongings and so she was the first to wake them.

"I've found some more of my things, Silver, look." She grinned.

Silver felt a loud thud as Luna threw a pile of items onto her stomach.

"Luna you might want to be a bit more careful with her, I think she's endured enough physical pain to last her a lifetime." Blake yawned.

Silver secretly thanked her, but obliged to Luna's request anyways and behest the items on top of her. "That's wonderful Luna. I'm really happy for you."

Luna seemed pleased, all she wanted was a word of congratulations and set off to place her things back into her trunk, which was lying on her bed.

Not a moment later, Lucinda stepped by their open door and walked in. "I don't want to go." She plopped down on Blake's untidy bed.

Blake rolled her eyes, "And why is that Lucinda?"

Lucinda sighed, "Because my parents don't let me see my friends over the summer, and that means I wont be able to see Elliot."

"Elliot?" Silver asked curiously.

Lucinda turned red in the face, "He's a second year you know."

Silver laughed, "Well then, that's quite an accomplishment."

"Speaking of.." Blake interrupted, "Silver I believe you have something to take care of before breakfast don't you?"

Silver looked at her for a moment, not quite understanding her until she realized what she was going on about. "Yes, right I do…" She jumped out of her bed and ran to the bathroom.

Blake waited in anticipation staring at the door when, as she had expected, Silver came rushing out once again, "Robes?"

Blake shook her head, "No, your can wear what you want today."

Silver nodded and rummaged through her trunk for a pair of jeans, t shirt, and cardigan before she disappeared into the bathroom once again.

The halls were unusually full this morning. It was probably because everyone was so eager to get home they couldn't sleep. Silver walked past groups of people, but it was hard to tell what house they were from. It was weird not seeing everyone in their house robes. She was so used to being able to tell everyone apart. She exhaled in defeat, now it would be even harder to find the Slytherins.

Although despite her worries, it wasn't very hard to find them. Crabbe and Goyle were flanking the group, which she assumed she would find Draco in. Silver hesitated for a moment, she wasn't sure if she wanted to pull him aside when he was in front of all of his friends, especially not Blaise, whom had unfortunately already spotted her.

"Get out of here Crouch, you're on the wrong side of the school, don't tell me that not wearing your robes has disoriented you." He sneered.

Silver ignored his snide comment and instead inspected each face in the group, "Where's Malfoy?"

Pansy laughed, "And why should we tell you?"

Silver stared her down, "Because I'll hex you if you don't."

Blaise sneered from behind her, "I'd like to see you try."

Silver broke eye contact with Pansy, "You two aren't worth my time."

She really had no time to waste with the Hogwart's express departing in exactly an hour. So without another word, she turned and lightly ran off.

Somewhere down the way she bumped into Blake and Luna, who were just making their way down to the dining hall and they insisted on her going down to breakfast with them. ("There's a chance you'll find Malfoy there," Blake said.)

But he wasn't and she was now beginning to worry that his father might've forced him to leave last night. She went upstairs and finished packing up the rest of her belongings. Once she was done, all the Ravenclaws were ordered to report to their common room, where Professor Filch greeted them with kind words and a warm goodbye. He ended his speech by reminding them that he will be waiting for each and every one of them on September first to begin another successful school year.

The students in their last year embraced each other tightly, and a few tears were shed. Their home for the past seven years was now just a memory, a place that had been their haven and had sculpted them to becoming the accomplished and great wizards they were today. The Head Boy and Head Girl also delivered a few words, but she couldn't make it through her entire speech because she broke down into tears after a few seconds of speaking.

Padma and Anthony, the prefects, delivered a few words that were quite the contrary of the Heads. Instead they spoke about the great fun, and challenging year that was coming ahead. And upon wishing them all a happy summer, the students departed their common room. Silver, Luna, Blake, Dominic, Savannah and Terry all exited together. Talking and laughing as they walked through the castle and into the entrance hall, where there was now a messy buildup of students.

Professor McGonagall stood on a stool trying to direct traffic so it would flow as smoothly as possible.

"Mr. Finnigan! Please do not trample the first years!"

"You! Keep your arms to yourself _please_."

"...and Ms. Marietti that goes for the two of you as well."

Savannah and Terry blushed, releasing each other from the snog that was providing them a source of entertainment to pass the time.

Silver was frantically searching the crowd, looking for any sign of a tall, blonde head. But her efforts were futile.

"Nothing yet." She whispered to Blake, who frowned.

Finally, they managed walking outside -the warmth of the sun heating their bodies from the cold temperature indoors. They reached closer to the platform where everyone was hard at work boarding their trunks and pets into the narrow red train when she saw a glint of blonde not too far in front of her. He moved towards the outside of the crowd, and her suspicions were confirmed.

"Blake, can you take care of my trunk?" She said hastily, not even waiting for a response before she ran to him, afraid he would disappear again.

When she was nearly there, he suddenly jerked his head in her direction and looked at her. His face seemed to have been overcome with relief. She slowed her pace and stopped in front of him.

"I couldn't sleep." He said unexpectedly.

"Neither could I." She admitted.

"This…this is bad."

She cringed."And when you say this, you mean _me_ don't you?"

He brushed a hand through his hair. "No, I mean _us."_

Silver shrugged, "So..now what?"

He looked at her, "How do you feel?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how do you feel at this very moment?"

She thought this over for a bit, "I don't want to talk about this."

His grey eyes bore into her and a shiver spread through her body. She was in a trance, hypnotized by the pull of his grey eyes as she unconsciously gravitated closer to him.

"I can't read your mind Silver," he sighed, "And then you say _I'm_ hard to read? You're no walk in the park either you know."

"I don't know what you want me to say." She said coyly.

She watched him shift his body to the left and pass his hand through his soft hair. It wasn't intricately gelled and perfectly kempt as it usually was today. She felt a sudden urge to touch it. _Oh my god, I'm a creep_, she thought to herself and bit her lip. She had never felt so drawn to anyone like this before.

When he didn't say anything she decided to speak, "I think about you more often than I should, I unconsciously look for you in the halls, I get ecstatically happy when I spend time with you, and when I was in the caves.." She paused for a second, pushing away the distasteful memory when she felt his hands on both of her shoulders, "….in the caves…all I could think of was – how badly I wanted you to be there because if you were, I would feel safe and somehow everything would be alright." She confessed everything she had been harboring for too long, but she felt terribly uncomfortable after doing so. She kept her gaze directly fixed on her flats beneath her and crossed her arms over her chest.

The last thing she was expecting from him is exactly what he did. He pulled her into him and hugged her, in front of the entire student body. She crashed onto his chest in surprise and looked up at him. "Draco?"

He stared down at her with his signature smirk, "I don't think you realize how taken I am by you."

Silver smiled and let her head rest under his chin. "I love you."

His chest filled with air and he placed his hands on the side of her face. She felt his hot breath on her lips and her heart jumped when he whispered back to her, "I've always loved you."And not before long, she had the taste of his lips on hers. She smiled into the kiss and he responded by pulling her in closer. Nothing had ever felt so _right_ in his life, and he wasn't about to let anyone or anything take it away from him.

From the distance, Blake smiled at the scene as Dominic helped her load both Silver and her own trunk onto the train. Even Dominic couldn't hide the smirk playing on his lips. "I wonder if they'll ever realize the whole train's waiting for them to climb onboard."

**The End**

* * *

A/N: Ahh! I hope you all loved the ending to this story!  
I know I did.

I want to thank all of my readers for making this story such a success.  
Thanks to all of you, my story never received less than 3,000 hits monthly, which is amazing because I never expected it to become so popular!  
Thank you to everyone who added me to author alert, story alert, or to their favorite stories.

And then of course all of my reviewers! You made all the difference with my writing. You guys have no idea how happy you all made me with your lovely reviews and encouragement.  
I wish I could write an individual thank you to all of you, because no lie thats how much I really loved all your reviews, but it would take forever!  
But I will write a quick thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter:  
Hanneot, xcrescentxmoon, Leonora, loveless139, silenaandbeckendorf4ever,  
DayDreamBabyBee: Thank you for reviewing each and every chapter since the very beginning, you have no idea how much it meants to me!,  
HadleyConlon: logging on to review from an office depot? Awesome! Talk about being a dedicated reviewer! lol

I'm working on new stories, as well as a sequel for **From Salem to Hogwarts**, so make sure to add me on author alert - if you haven't already (:

And of course, ending this the way I usually would: Please review!!! (:


	44. Authors Note

Just a quick update for you all:

**Just wanted to let you all know that the sequel for From Salem to Hogwarts is up. So feel free to read and review to your heart's content (:  
It's called 'Within Enemy Lines'. The summary isn't very good, just because I couldn't write much - but I promise it's a lot more interesting than the summary makes it out to be! lol**

**xo Sophie**


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